TOPIC:  Organic Synthesis Assisted by Photons
SPEAKER: Prof. Masahiro Murakami, Kyoto University, Japan
TIME：Oct 23rd (Monday) 15:30
LOCATION: Room 528, Chemistry Building A 
INVITER: A. Prof. Changkun Li 

Biography

EDUCATION
1984 Ph.D.  The University of Tokyo
  (Professor Teruaki Mukaiyama)
1981 M.Sc.  The University of Tokyo
1979 B.Sc.  The University of Tokyo

ACADEMIC CAREER
2002 — present Professor at Kyoto University
1993 — 2001 Associate Professor at Kyoto University
1987 — 1993 Assistant to Professor Yoshihilo Ito at Kyoto University
1984 — 1987 Assistant to Professor Teruaki Mukaiyama at The University of Tokyo

AWARDS
1989  The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Young Chemists
2004 The Chemical Society of Japan Award for Creative Work
2008 Nagoya Silver Medal
2013 Synthetic Organic Chemistry Award, Japan
2014    Humboldt-Forschungspreis

RESEARCH INTERESTS
Development of new reactions, particularly using transition metal catalysts
Rationalization of basic principles underlying organic reactions
 
Abstract
Whereas products of thermal reactions are thermodynamically more stable than the reactants, products of photoreactions can be thermodynamically less stable than the starting materials.

Presented in my talk will be photon-promoted synthesis where chemical bonds and/or entities are activated and are reacted with the aid of a photon. Our fundamental strategy consists of two phases.

The first phase is a photo-induced endergonic process. A photon donates energy to the reactant to produce a more energetic intermediate.

The second phase is a thermal process converting the energetic intermediate to a desired product. The energy gained in the first phase provides the driving force required for the second phase. The net transformation can be energetically uphill, which is impossible with thermo-driven transformations.