Institute for Molecular Science

Our research interests lie in the development of transition metal-catalyzed reaction systems toward ideal (highly efficient, selective, green, safe, simple, etc.) organic transformation processes. In one active area of investigation, we are developing the heterogeneous aquacatalytic systems. Various types of catalytic organic molecular transformations, e.g. carbon-carbon bond forming cross-coupling, carbon-heteroatom bond forming reaction, aerobic alcohol oxidation, etc., were achieved in water under heterogeneous conditions by using amphiphilic polymer-supported transition metal complexes and nanoparticles, where self-concentrating behavior of hydrophobic organic substrates inside the amphiphilic polymer matrix played a key role to realize high reaction performance in water.