By
invitation of Prof. Liangnian He, Prof. Yves Queneau of the
Centre
National de la Recherché Scientifique (CNRS) paid visit to the SKLEOC. On 3:30
PM of April 26th, 2019, he delivered a speech entitled “Synthetic
Organic Chemistry using Carbohydrates: a Contribution to Green Chemistry”.
During
the talk, Prof. Queneau first briefly introduced carbohydrate compounds and
biomass chemistry, and his group’s application of using biomass compounds as
essentials for renewable reactants, designs of atom economical reactions,
solvent-free syntheses, multi-component green chemistry and sustainable
chemistry. The potential applications and scientific research in this field is
much anticipated. Prof. Queneau then demonstrated the preparation of HMF and
GMF, important regenerating starting materials for fine chemical syntheses,
using carbohydrate compounds. The obtained HMF and GMF are excellent starting
points for further derivatization. They can be applied in the design of novel
chemical compounds and utilized in (Aza)-Baylis-Hillman reactions and Biginelli
reactions. The talk combining industrial syntheses and scientific insights was
inspiring. Following the talk was an exciting question session discussing the
details of the presented chemistry,
Prof.
Yves Queneau is director of CNRS Lyon
an honorary professor of the University of Hull. Prof. Queneau obtained his
Ph.D. in organic chemistry in 1988, and then worked at CNRS. He pursued
postdoctoral studies in the laboratories of Samuel J. Danishefsky in 1991. In
1995 he was appointed director of CNRS, devoted towards carbohydrate chemistry.
In 2003, he joined the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA
Lyon) and became vice director. Prof. Queneau’s primary research interests are
sustainable resources and functional polysaccharide derivatives. As an expert
in carbohydrate chemistry, he was also involved in multiple biology involved
projects. Prof. Queneau won the CNRS bronze medal in 1994, the “Europol’ Agro”
award in 1998, CNRS reward for excellence in science in 2010, CNRS reward for
research and doctoral supervision in 2014 and Lu Jiaxi Lecture Award in 2015.
Prof. Queneau holds more than 165 publications and have chaired multiple
international seminars. He is also on the editorial board of Carbohydrate
Chemistry.
