162015

May 2015
Issue #16

CONTENTSMEXT Project of Integrated Research on Chemical Synthesis 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2
The 17th & 18th Joint Seminar, Core-to-Core Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  4
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Program in Green Natural Sciences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  6
Research Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  7
Visiting Professor 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  12
RCMS Seminars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
German Students from University of Münster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
Report from the Chemical Instrumentation Facility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
Chemistry Gallery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  21
Prizes Awarded 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
Events in 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
Staff List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24

This newsletter is also available in PDF format from the RCMS homepage (ihttp://www.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp/).

RCMS NEWSMEXT Project of Integrated Researchon Chemical Synthesis 2014
In 2014, MEXT Project of Integrated Research on Chemical Synthesis, a pioneering synthesis of a new scientific base andnurturing the next generation of researchers (Hokkaido University Catalysis Research Center, Nagoya University ResearchCenter for Materials Science, Kyoto University International Research Center for Elements Science Institute for Chemical
Research, Kyushu University Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering) held the symposium below.

The 5th Young Researchers Forum(Hokkaido, June 20–21, 2014)

The 4th International Conference on MEXT Project ofIntegrated Research on Chemical Synthesis(Kyoto University, July 10–11, 2014)

Prof. Holger Braunschweig

Prof. Katsuhiko Tomooka

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The 5th Symposium on MEXT Project of Integrated Research on Chemical Synthesis(Nagoya University, December 19–20, 2014)

Prof. Eiichi Nakamura

Dr. Tahei Tahara

Prof. Kunio Awaga*************************************************************************[Symposium and Forum in 2015]• The 6th Symposium on MEXT Project of Integrated Research on Chemical Synthesis in Nagoya (April 14, 2015)• The 6th Young Researchers Forum in Kyusyu (July 3–4, 2015)• The 5th International Conference on MEXT Project of Integrated Research on Chemical Synthesis in Nagoya(January, 2016)

3

RCMS NEWSThe 17th & 18th Joint Seminar,
Core-to-Core Program
The “Elements Function for Transformative Catalysis and Materials”, Core-to-Core program (2014 to 2018), has
succeeded in sending young researchers to sites performing international joint research through cooperation
with the University of Munster (Germany), the Berlin University of Technology (Germany), and Queen’s University(Canada). Further growth has been realized through the deployment of doctoral students and young researchers
through the “Japanese-German Graduate Externship” (2005 to 2011) and “The Strategic Young Researcher Overseas
Visit Program for Accelerating Brain Circulation” (2011 to 2013), results-producing projects in which the centerand the Department of Chemistry at the Graduate School of Science have fulfilled a central role. The Core-to-Core
Program has enabled the deployment of master’s students, and outstanding young researchers expected to perform
globally in the future can now be refined through participation in international joint research performed overseas
at an early stage.

The 17th Core- to-Core Joint Seminar
June 12–13, 2014 (Thursday – Friday) at Nagoya University
German Participants:   7 Faculties and 5 Students (Oral Presentations)Japanese Participants:  5 Faculties and 4 Students (Oral Presentations),
29 Poster Presentations

Prof. Shigehiro Yamaguchi

Dr. Foo Siong Wan

Ms. Friederike Schröter

4

The 18th Core-to-Core Joint Seminar
November 27–29, 2014 (Monday – Tuesday) at University of Münster
Japanese Participants: 7 Faculties, 1 Post doc and 4 Students (Oral Presentations)
German Participants: 3 Faculties, 2 Post doc and 6 Students (Oral Presentations), 54 Poster Presentations
Canadian Participants: 1 Faculties

Prof. Kenichiro Itami

Nozomi Mihara

President of U. of Münster,Prof. Ursula Nelles

Prof. Kazuyuki Tatsumi

5RCMS NEWS

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Programin Green Natural Sciences (IGER)
Integrative Graduate Education and Research (IGER) Program in Green Natural Sciences was launched in 2011,and built on three pillars: (I) practicing cutting-edge fundamental natural science research, (II) completion of sufficient coursework to enable that research, and (III) graduate school literacy education (English training, studying
abroad, skill seminars, etc.). Based on these, the program aims to nurture the “scientific ability and social skills to view
situations from a broad perspective,”“developmental ability to extract practical results from fundamental research,”and “active international citizenship on a global scale,” along with fostering “corporate researchers cultivated as seeds
in industry,” “academic researchers raised in the scholarly domain,” and “environmental coordinators and mentors
active throughout global society” that will carry the environmental fields of the next generation.
In 2014, over 260 graduate students enrolled in thisprogram from graduate school of Science, Engineeringand Agricultural Sciences. The program provided opportunity for 63 students to participate in international
conferences held at outside Japan, and also provided
opportunity of mid-term (2–3 months) foreign residency
research for 23 students. Furthermore, the program
hosted various international symposium / workshop
where lots of students could have opportunities todiscuss with foreign researchers.
Thirteen students participated in the Leadership
Program at North Carolina, US. All students not only atA snapshot of foreign residency researchtended lectures regarding Leadership, Entrepreneurshipand Technology Transfer but also visited many laboratories in universities at North Carolina to build networks
with PIs, postdocs and graduate students. In addition,
all of them had opportunities to do presentations on
their research to these researchers and have discussions.
Furthermore, they visited some companies to learnsome ideas of working in industry as a researcher andbusiness environment in the USA from entrepreneurs
and researchers.
Leadership Program at North Carolina
The program had the first 22 alumni at the end of
FY 2014. The following are some comments from them.
“The program is one of the best that I have everparticipated. Through this program, I got to know many
excellent people from diverse fields and talking withthem had benefited me a lot from various aspects.”“I came to realize about the importance of developing good leadership qualities not only for myself, butalso for the future of community and society.”“It had opened up my mindset about what I could
achieve in future. Besides, I got to know more about
working in a global environment, as in how to deal
with people of different cultural background, and how
to maximize the outcome from a team comprising ofmulti-nationality.”
Their future success is greatly anticipated.
Alumni from Department of Chemistry6Research Topic(Organic Synthesis)

Flexible Fluorophores for Materials Imaging Technique
We have proposed hybridization of flexible andrigid π skeletons as a fundamental molecular designfor multi-luminescence from a single-component
organic system. A series of synthetic hybrid π systems
change their conformation, depending on the physicalenvironment in various media. Since the structural transformation is accompanied by the luminescence color
change, the visualization of the physical environment
can be achieved in the materials. This technique would
be called as “materials imaging”. Our approach beganwith the molecular design for the multi-luminescentsystems. As for organic systems, π-conjugated skeletons
are a fundamental unit for controlling their optoelectronic properties. Since the π skeletons are composed
mainly of planar sp2 carbons and aromatic rings, most of
π-conjugated systems are inherently rigid. The rigidity
is often favorable for luminescent properties. However,the limitation of conformational diversity confines theirproperties into static ones. On the other hand, conformational changes of flexible π systems could lead todynamic properties, although the molecular motion
sometimes results in the quenching of emission. Ouridea is to combine these advantages of the rigidity andflexibility for the creation of new multi-luminescentmolecules.
A hybrid π system we have first designed displayed
environment-dependent RGB luminescence, whichis composed of a flexible cyclooctatetraene core andrigid anthraceneimide wings [1,2]. The RGB emissions
from a single organic component without changing theexcitation energy have not yet been realized, whereas
the inorganic quantum dots with different particle
sizes and several aromatic systems with different aggregation states show multichromic characteristics.
The hybridization of the rigid and flexible substructures
plays important roles in the multichromism with thethree primary colors. The flexible moiety gives rise toa dynamic conformational change in the excited statefrom a blue-emissive V-shaped form to a green-emissive
planar form. The rigid substructure induces a two-fold
π-stacked array of the V-shaped molecules in the crystalline state, which produces a red excimer emission.
With the single-component multichromic properties,

a freezing process of organic
solvents was monitored by
the fluorescence color change.
Namely, the green emission
from the planar conformer wasobserved in a solution, while theblue color from the V-shaped
form was observed in a frozen
part of the solution because
the conformational change in the excited state issuppressed. More importantly, this viscochromism wasapplied to the real-time visualization of a hardening
process of solvent-based adhesives, such as CemedineC®. The fluorescence color of the trace additive informed
us without any spectrometer when the hardening iscompleted as well as where is an insufficiently hardenedarea [3]. The imaging technique will be further developed to visualize the physical environment in various
materials by the real-time and contactless method.

References[1] S. Saito, S. Irle, S. Yamaguchi, et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc.
2013, 135, 8842 (Highlighted in C&EN).
[2] S. Saito, S. Irle, S. Yamaguchi, et al. Chem. Eur. J. 2014,
20, 2193 (Inside Cover).
[3] Patent Application 2013-257581.
(Shohei SAITO)

7

RCMS NEWSResearch Topic(Inorganic Synthesis)

Programmable Synthesis of Stacked Assemblies ofPorphyrins and Phthalocyanines
Metallo-porphyrins and metallo-phthalocyanines
are versatile building blocks for functional molecularassemblies since their redox, spin, spectroscopic, andcatalytic properties are tunable by changing the central
metal ions. Moreover, it is well-known that these compounds spontaneously stack each other due to theirplaner structure to form polymeric assemblies withunique chemical and physical properties. We supposedthat the precise control of numbers, sequences, andcompositions of metallo-porphyrins and/or metallophthalocyanines inside their stacked assemblies would
lead us to produce the materials with designed functions.
Research efforts in our group focus on development of
the programmable synthesis of the stacked assemblies
of metallo-porphyrins and metallo-phthalocyanines
for nanoelectronic devices, supramolecular catalysts,
and so on. Until now, we have developed two different
strategies for the programmable synthesis of the stacked
arrays as mentioned below.
1) Covalently-linked arrays via repetitive stepwise
peptide elongation. We developed a novel programmable synthesis of a cofacially-stacked porphyrin array
via repetitive construction of a peptide duplex as shownin Figure 1. We designed and synthesized a novel porphyrin having two artificial amino acid moieties at thetrans meso-positions. Twofold peptide bond formation
between two porphyrin units can afford the peptide duplex bridged by porphyrins. By utilizing this method, we
synthesized a ladder-type porphyrin array T1 in which
three different square-planar metal ions, namely Cu2+,
Ni2+, and Pd2+, were arranged in a programmable fashion.
Efficient electronic communication among the arrayedporphyrin units were confirmed by electrochemicalmeasurements.
2) Mechanically-linked arrays
via multiple rotaxane formation. Rotaxane is a mechanicallyinterlocked supramolecular
structure in which an axle component is threaded through amacrocycle. We reported thatthe assemblage of a porphyrinhaving four peripheral alkylammonium sidechains
1 and a phthalocyanine bearing four crown ethers
2, followed by a stoppering reaction to convert theterminal azide groups of 1 into bulky phosphoramidate
stoppers, gave a stacked assembly 3 of a porphyrin anda phthalocyanine connected through fourfold rotaxane(Figure 2). It was also revealed that control of the spinspin communication between two S = 1/2 spins of Cu2+ inthe dinuclear Cu2+ complex 4 was achieved by reversible
protonation/deprotonation of the ammonium ions andthe phosphoramidate stoppers of the rotaxane structure.

Figure 2. Synthesis of a dinuclear Cu2+ complex 4 and the switching of
the spin-spin interaction in 4.

References[1] Y. Yamada, T. Kubota, M. Nishio, K. Tanaka, J. Am.
Chem. Soc., 2014, 136, 6505–6509.
[2] Y. Yamada, M. Okamoto, K. Furukawa, T. Kato, K.
Tanaka, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2012, 51, 709–713.
Figure 1. Synthesis of a ladder-type peptide duplex T1.

8(Yasuyuki YAMADA)

Research Topic(Functional Materials)

Research on Rechargeable Molecular BatteriesOver the last decade, the evolution of materials has
led to numerous innovations in the field. In the recent
past, the Li-ion battery (LIB) is the pioneer technology as
it provides both high energy density and large output
current. Recently, our group focused on the applicationof molecular clusters, such as “Mn12 acetate” and Keggintype polyoxometalates as novel cathode active materials
due to their large electron uptake numbers. The preliminary results inspired us to develop advanced materials
by combining the advantages of organic materials andmolecular clusters. The practical strategy was to link themetal clusters with redox active organic bridging ligands
to form porous coordination polymers (PCPs), which arealso well known as metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).
Herein we selected 2,7-anthraquinonedicarboxylic
acid (2,7-H2AQDC) as a bridging ligand. Anthraquinone(AQ) exhibits two reversible redox steps with one electron
uptake for each. The solvothermal reaction between
2,7-H2AQDC and Cu(ClO4)2·6H2O in DMF led to the formation of a two-dimensional (2-D) metal organic frameworkwith a formula of [Cu(2,7-AQDC)-(DMF)]∞·xDMF (1·DMF).
The framework adopted a Kagome lattice architecture.
A single triangular unit of Kagome lattice was composedby the Cu2(Ac)4 paddlewheel cluster secondary building
units (SBUs) as nodes and anthraquinone groups as
bridges (Figure 1). Hexagonal pores were formed inside
the 2-D layers by surrounding AQ groups and possesseda diameter of 23.4 Å.
CR2032-type coin cell batteries were assembled tocharacterize the solid state electrochemical behaviors of
1·DMF. To rule out the kinetic effect and investigate theintrinsic behavior, pellets that contained 10% weight of
MOF, 70% carbon black as a conductive additive and 20%
PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) as a binder were used ascathodes, while the anodes were lithium discs, and a
1:1 v/v EC/DEC (ethylene carbonate/diethyl carbonate)solution of LiPF6 (1M) was used as electrolyte. In the
optimization of the measurement conditions, the voltage
window and scan current were selected as 4.0–2.0 V and
1 mA, respectively. Two plateaus were clearly observedin the charge-discharge profile within the voltage rangesof 3.4–2.5 V and 2.5–2.0 V, respectively, while the output
gravimetric capacity ratio of the two steps was nearly 1:1(Figure 2). In cyclic performance test of the battery, an
initial specific capacity of 115 mAh/g was achieved, andthere was no decrease within 50 cycles.
Operando Cu K-edge X-ray absorption near edge
structure (XANES) analysis. This phenomenon could be
assigned to the stepwise two-electron uptake processes
in Cu2(Ac)4 and AQ subunits. These findings suggestthat MOF materials with goodpotential for use in industrial
batteries could be induced byfine fabrication techniques, suchas the introduction of thin films
and nanocrystals. By involving
other 3d transition metals, suchas Mn, Fe, and Co, new MOFs withlarger surface areas and higher
reduction voltages might be achieved, which could vastly
improve the performance of the MOF-based batteries.

Fig. 1 2D sheet structure of [Cu(2,7-AQDC)(DMF)]∞.

Fig. 2 Charge/discharge curves of 1·DM.

References[1] H. Wang, S. Hamanaka, Y. Nishimoto, S. Irle, T, Yoko­
yama, H. Yoshikawa, K. Awaga, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 134,
4918 (2012).
[2] Z. Zhang, H. Yoshikawa, K. Awaga, J. Am. Chem. Soc.,
136, 16112 (2014).
(Kunio AWAGA)
9RCMS NEWSResearch Topic(Biomaterials Research)

Molecular Design of Monooxygenases for
Hydroxylation of Small Alkanes
Gaseous alkanes such as methane and ethane
are important fuels and potential chemical feedstock,
but the selective hydroxylation of gaseous alkanes is along-standing challenge and a current topic of interest
considering increasing industrial and economic requirements. Cytochrome P450s (P450s) are a superfamily ofheme-containing monooxygenases that are capable ofbreaking strong C–H bonds of hydrocarbons. Because
recombinant forms of P450s are prepared by using
common expression systems such as Escherichia coli,
P450s have great potential for further engineeringand subsequent application in synthetic chemistry.
Unfortunately, the substrate specificity of cytochrome
P450s makes them unsuitable for the hydroxylationof gaseous small alkanes, because P450s, especiallythose isolated from bacteria, recognize their specificsubstrates by intermolecular interactions to ensure their
specificity and efficiency. Thus, first challenge for us is toprovide general methodologies to control its substratespecificity of P450s.
P450BM3 isolated from Bacillus megaterium catalyzes the hydroxylation of long-alkyl-chain fatty acids.
Because the substrate binding is crucial to initiate thecatalytic cycle of P450BM3, substrates whose structures
are largely different from those of fatty acids cannot behydroxylated by P450BM3. P450BM3 thus does not catalyze the hydroxylation of small hydrocarbons. However,
we have demonstrated that even wild-type P450BM3
can catalyze the hydroxylation of gaseous alkanes suchas ethane and propane as well as benzene by using perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCs) as decoy molecules.1–3
Recently, we have demonstrated that N-perfluoroacyl
amino acids strongly activate wild-type P450BM3 forthe hydroxylation of inert alkanes.4 The turnover rate
for hydroxylation of ethane and propane catalyzed
by P450BM3 with N-perfluorononanoyl L-leucine(PFC9-L-Leu) as the decoy molecule reached 45/min
and 256/min, respectively. More importantly, we havesucceeded in the crystal structure analysis of P450BM3/
N-perfluorononanoyl L-tryptophan (­PFC9-L-Trp) complex.4 The binding of PFC9-L-Trp reforms the active site
pocket to allow the accommodation of small substrates
and simultaneously influences the formation of active

10

species of P450BM3.

References[1] N. Kawakami, O. Shoji, Y. Watanabe, Angew. Chem.
Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 5315–5318.
[2] N. Kawakami, O. Shoji, Y. Watanabe, Chem. Sci. 2013,
4, 2344–2348.
[3] O. Shoji, T. Kunimatsu, N. Kawakami, Y. Watanabe,
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 6606–6610.
[4] Z. Cong, O. Shoji, C. Kasai, N. Kawakami, H. Sugimoto,Y. Shiro, Y. Watanabe, ACS Catalysis 2015, 5, 150–156.
(Yoshihito WATANABE)

Research Topic(Molecular Catalysis)

New Trends in Molecular Catalysis
The major mission of the Division of Molecular
Catalysis at RCMS is to establish new trends andhigh-standard academic basis in chemical synthesis byexploring new science in molecular catalysis. This article
focuses on our recent representative research in the
Division of Molecular Catalysis. Each project is initiatedby identifying and discussing “What is the scientificbasis requested for academia and industry in the next
generation?”. A part of the results has been publishedas academic papers[1–4] and patents.[5]Chemical Synthesis by Catalytic Hydration[2,3]Catalytic hydration of organic compounds is afundamental reaction both in the academic chemistry
and industrial chemical production. We have recently
disclosed that water-soluble cobalt(III) porphyrin complexes promote the hydration of terminal alkynes to give
methyl ketones (Figure 1).
Organic Synthesis with Light Energy: the Noyori
Forum Joint Project[4,5]Chemical synthesis using sunlight energy is a dreamof the whole human beings. Photochemical transformation of biomass-derived or renewable substances
is an important challenge for promoting green andsustainable chemistry. During the course of our joint
research program with the Noyori Forum, aiming at thedevelopment of new technology for the industry in thenext generation, we have succeeded in developing aorganic reaction that catalytically utilize light energy.

The photocatalytic transfer hydrogenolysis of allyl alcohol
gives potentially sustainablepropylene with high chemo- andredox-selectivity, promoted bypowdered Pd/TiO 2 in CH 3OH
under near-ultraviolet–visible
light irradiation at ambient temperature. Noteworthy in thistransformation is the unusual selectivity for C–O bondcleavage over C=C bond reduction. With the similar
strategy, we have also developed the photocatalytic
dehydrogenation of alcohols and the photocatalytic
N-methylation of amines with methanol.
References[1] Chem. Asian J. 10, 112–115 (2015).
[2] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 135, 50−53 (2013).
[3] (a) RSC Adv. 5, 12152–12160 (2015). (b) Chem. Asian
J. 6, 1740–1743 (2011).
[4] (a) Chem. Eur. J. 19, 9452−9456 (2013); Synfacts 9,1138 (2013). (b) Catal. Sci. Technol. 4, 4093–4098(2014). (c) Org. Lett. in press (2015). (d) Chem. Lett.
42, 146–147 (2013).
[5] (a) JP2013-213167. (b) JP2013-193470. (c) JP201365083. (d) JP2012-181888. (e) JP2012-70113. (f )JP2012-28845. (g) JP2010-208526. (h) JP2010203712. (i) JP2010-49823. (j) JP2010-49735. (k)JP2010-1557. (l) JP2009-299231. (m) JP2009-233817.
(Hiroshi NAKA)

Figure 1. Catalytic Hydration of Alkynes by a Cobalt Catalyst

11

RCMS NEWS

Visiting Professor 2014
Prof. Refat Moustafa Hassan Abzied
Professor, Assuit University

Period of Stay:
May 19 – August 29, 2014
Research Theme:
Syntheses of macro ligands as products of naturaland synthetic polymers with hydroxy groups andremoval of heavy and / or radioactive metals fromthe environment
This is the second visit to the RCMS for Professor
Hassan from Assiut University, Egypt. He started joint
research with a member of RCMS in 2010, and keeps
producing high-quality research papers concerning
the oxidation reactions of various natural and artificial
polymers such as alginate and its derivatives by various

12

metal complexes. The joint research includes (1) oxidation reactions of polysaccharides and carrageenans
by aqueous cerium(IV), permanganate, chromic acid,hexachloroiridate, and by alkaline hexacyanoferrate.
He also studied (2) the behavior of biopolymeric metalalginate ionotropic hydrogels, and (3) non-isothermal
decomposition of cross-linked thorium (IV)-alginate
complex in relation to the coordination geometry andthermal stability. He is very active and his recent publication is related to (4) the corrosion inhibition of aluminumusing water-soluble polyvinylalchol. All these results
have been published as more than 10 articles since 2011.
Professor Hassan also shared his precious time with thestudents, and enjoyed English conversation with thema couple of hours a week.

RCMS Seminars
April 7, 2014 Prof. Graham J. Bodwell(Department of Chemistry, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada)“Half Way Around the Bend! Synthesis and Properties of a Series of
1,1,n,n-Tetramethyl[n]teropyrenophanes”

April 10, 2014 Prof. Rik R. Tykwinski(Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany)“Synthesis and structure-property relationships of 1-D carbon chains”

April 23, 2014 Prof. Daya Shankar Pandey(Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science,
Banaras Hindu University, India)“Anti Cancer Agents Based on Arene Ru(II), Rh(III)and Ir(III) Dipyrrinato Complexes”

April 30, 2014 Prof. Mats Larsson(Stockholm University, Department of Physics, Sweden)“Charged chiral molecules at ev and keV energies”

May 1, 2014 Asst. Prof. Dr. Pornpan Pungpo(Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science Ubonratchathani
University Ubonratchathani, THAILAND)“Rational design of InhA inhibitors as highly potential anti-tubercular
agents, based on computer aided molecular design”

May 16, 2014 Dr. Shigeki Kawai(Universität Basel, Germany JST-PRESTO, Molecular Technology)“Imaging chemical structures of molecules and quantifying mechanicalproperties with high-resolution force microscopy”

13RCMS NEWS

June 24, 2014 Prof. Refat Moustafa Hassan(Assiut University, Egypt)“From Rate-Law to Reaction Mechanism. A New Orientation into theKinetics of Oxidation of Some Alcoholic Macromolecules by Oxyanion
Chromium(VI) as Multi-equivalent Oxidant in Acid Perchlorate Solutions”

June 24, 2014 Prof. Donna G. Blackmond(Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, USA)
“Chemical and Physical Models for the Origin of Biological
Homochirality”

July 9, 2014 Prof. David Spring(Department of Chemistry University of Cambridge, UK)“Enriching Chemical Space to Drug Undruggable Targets”

July 16, 2014 Dr. Heide Ibrahim(INRS – EMT, Canada)“Analysis and control of hydrogen and electron movement
using Coulomb explosion imaging”

July 25, 2014 Prof. Yasumichi Matsumoto(Graduate School of Science andTechnology, Kumamoto University)

August 29, 2014 Prof. Toshiyuki Kan(School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Japan)“Synthetic Investigation of Natural Products from Mushroom”

14August 29, 2014 Prof. Hirokazu Kawagishi(Research Institute of Green Science and Technology / Graduate
School of Science and Technology / Graduate School of Agriculture,
Shizuoka University, Japan)“Chemical explanations for mysteries related to mushrooms– ‘Sugihiratake-acute encephalopathy’ and ‘fairy ring’ –”September 16, 2014 Prof. Chao Chen
(Tsinghua University, Beijing, China)“Efficient Ring Synthesis with Diaryliodonium Salts
through Electrophilic Activation of Small molecules”

October 3, 2014 Dr. Jérôme Canivet(The Institute of Researches on Catalysis and Environment in Lyon
(IRCELYON), France)“Metal-Organic Frameworks: A new tale of the Emperors’s new clothes”

October 3, 2014 Prof. Emad Flear Aziz
(Department of Physics, Free University of Berlin, Germany)“Charge Transfer to Solvent Dynamics in Aqueous Solution”

October 3, 2014 Dr. Matthew A. Addicoat(School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs
Univerity, Bremen, Germany)“AuToGraFS: Automatic Topological
Generator for Framework Structures”

October 3, 2014 Prof. Thomas Heine(School of Engineering and Science, Jacobs University, Bremen, Germany)“Transition metal dichalcogenides: a highly sensitive species”

15

RCMS NEWS

October 10, 2014 Dr. Christian Doonan(University of Adelaide, Australia)“Robust porous organic cage molecules”

October 16, 2014 Dr. Amos B. Smith, III(University of Pennsylvania, USA)
“Evolution and Exploitation of Anion
Relay Chemistry (ARC)”

October 22, 2014 Prof. Lawrence T. Scott(Boston College, USA)
“Geodesic Polyarenes: Precursors to Single-index Carbon Nanotubes”

October 23, 2014 Prof. Martin Oestreich(Technische Universität Berlin, Germany)“Catalytic Si-H Bond Activation”

October 30, 2014 Prof. Matthew S. Sigman(Department of Chemistry, The University of Utah, USA)
“Analyzing and Predicting Selectivity in Asymmetric Catalysis”

October 31, 2014 Prof. Ming-Chang Yeh(National Taiwan Normal Univ., Taiwan)“Facile Synthesis of Heterocycles via Iron- andIndium-Promoted Cyclization Reactions”

November 5, 2014 Prof. Warren E. Piers(University of Calgary, Canada)“Perfluoroarylborane catalyzed frustrated Lewis pair hydrosilations:mechanism, applications and scope”

16November 11, 2014 Prof. Thomas Baumgartner(University of Calgary, Canada)“Organophosphorus Avenues Toward Powerful Electron Acceptors andSelf-Assembled Nanomaterials”

November 12, 2014 Dr. Shigeyuki Masaoka(Accociate Professor, Institute for Molecular
Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences)

November 26, 2014 Prof. Alexander S. Fedorov(L.V. Kirensky Institute of Physics, Russian Academy of Science & Siberian
Federal University, Krasnoyarsk, Russia)“Influence of buffer gas and vibration temperature of carbon clusters on
fullerene formation in a carbon plasma”

December 8, 2014 Prof. Dr. Thomas Niehaus(Faculty of Physics, University of Regensburg,
Germany)“Range separated functionals in the density
functional based tight-binding method:
Formalism, implementation and first results”

December 15, 2014 Prof. Thomas V. O’Halloran(Chemistry of Life Processes Institute, Departmentof Chemistry, Northwestern Univ, USA)
“Transition metal speciation in the cell: insightsfrom the chemistry of metal iron receptors”

December 16, 2014 Prof. Simon Blakey(Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, Emory University, USA)
“C-H Functionalization: An Enabling Technology for Pharmaceutical,
Natural Products and Materials Chemistry”

17RCMS NEWS

December 22, 2014 Prof. Masahiro Irie
(Research Center for Smart Molecules, Department of Chemistry,
Rikkyo University)

January 9, 2015 Dr. Benjamin Hourahine(Department of Physics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.)“Density-functional based tight-binding method for exotic systems”

January 20, 2015 Prof. Chunyan Chi(National University of Singapore)“Soluble and Stable Acene Based Molecules and Materials”

February 9, 2015 Prof. Dr. Daniel M. Packwood(WPI-Advanced Institute for Materials Research (WPI-AIMR), Tohoku University)“Equivalence Class Sampling for Molecular Self-Assembly on Surfaces”

February 17, 2015 Dr. Tatiana Domratcheva(Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max-Planck Institute for Medical
Research, Germany)“Computational studies of photosensitive flavoproteins: from spectroscopy
to understanding functional mechanisms”

February 20, 2015 Prof. Dr. Hanmin Huang(Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics)“Exploring metal-complexes for catalytic transformation of
C-H and C-N bonds”

18German Students from University of Münster
Artur Kokornaczyk
Period of Stay:
April – September, 2014
Research Theme:
Regioselective Arylation of Thiazole Derivatives as New Potential Sigma 1 Antagonists

Thomas Özgün
Period of Stay:
April – September, 2014
Research Theme:
Frustrated Lewis Pairs; Ambiphilic Ligands in Transition Metal Catalyzed Reactions

Till Böckermann
Period of Stay:
April – September, 2014
Research Theme:
Controlling Liquid Crystalline Phases by Host Guest Chemistry of Functionalized Cyclodextrin

19

RCMS NEWS

Report from the Chemical Instrumentation Facility
The Chemical Instrumentation Facility is a facility
shared by the whole university that contains instrumental

In addition, on September 25th and 26th, the FY2014
Nagoya University Technical Staff Training (Analysis andanalysis equipment including a nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) spectrometer, mass spectrometer, and spectroscopic
analysis equipment for analyzing molecular structures. In the

Material Course) was held at the Research Center for Material
Science. A special lecture was held at the Chemistry Galleryof the Noyori Materials Science Laboratory on basics related

Chemical Instrumentation Facility, services are provided tousers including teaching faculty, researchers, and students
through maintenance of these measurement instruments,

to the NMR spectrometer and mass spectrometer as wellas their applications, and measurement training for the
NMR spectrometer and mass spectrometer was held at thelectures on measurement methods, consultations for specific measurements, and entrusted measurement. During
the 2014 fiscal year, as shown in “CIF Utilization Status”, 86

Chemical Instrumentation Facility.

research groups from the university registered to use thefacility, and the number of teaching faculty, students, andresearchers who registered to use the facility during the year
was 800. Since the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules
began and large-scale projects such as ERATO started at theuniversity, the number of users is increasing.
During the 2014 fiscal year, a “Lecture for Promoting
Shared Usage of High Magnetic Field Solid-State NMR
spectrometer” was held on November 7th with the support of
the University Collaboration Research Equipment Network.
In recent years, measurement technology related to solidstate NMR spectrometry has seen remarkable advances, and
it is expected that it will be applied to various research fields.
Therefore, in order to cultivate potential users of the solidstate NMR spectrometer, lectures were held on solid-state
NMR measurement methods, sample preparations, data

Training by technical staff[CIF Utilization Status]
Utilization Status for the Academic Year 2014
(April 2014 – February 2015)

analysis methods, data interpretation, and application examples for using the 700MHz solid state NMR spectrometer.

Number of Uses/Measurements by Instrument

High Magnetic Field Solid-State NMR(JNM-ECA700, JEOL)

20

Utilization Status by Department(Total: 86 Groups, 800 People)

Chemistry Gallery
The Chemistry Gallery (2nd Floor of the Noyori Materials Science Laboratory) continued to host a large number ofvisitors in 2014. In particular there may be a Japanese Nobel laureates has also been selected from Nagoya University,
annual visitors has exceeded 20,000 people for the first time (From April 2014 to March 2015, 23,908 people).
This includes many high school students and their parents visiting Nagoya University to tour the Chemistry
Gallery and follow University Professor Ryoji Noyori’s steps in his path to receiving the Nobel Prize, as well as people
who came to see special exhibitions held at the Gallery. In addition, the Gallery held many events such as seminars
and lectures by overseas guest researchers. And also many people visited during Open Campus in August (1,904
people) and Nagoya University Home Coming Day in October. (2,173 people)

Exhibition of Nobel Ceremony venue

Director, Prof. Awaga with the guests from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

21

RCMS NEWSPrizes Awarded 2014
Assistant Prof. Shohei Saito
The Commendation for Scienceand Technology by the Minister of
Education, Culture, Sports, Scienceand Technology 2014

The 64th the Chemical Society of Japan
Award 2014(category of under 37 years old)

Assistant Prof. Kei Murakami

Assistant Prof. Haruka Omachi

Takeda Award in Synthetic Organic
Chemistry, Japan
January 6, 2015

Reaxys PhD Prize 2014 Finalist
September 21, 201422

Events in 2014

September, 2014
Designated Professor Kazuyuki Tatsumi elected as a member of new executive
board of International Council for Science.
· Former Director of RCMS
· President of IUPAC (2013–2014)

October, 2014
New organization “Institute for Integrated Chemical Sciences” establishment preparationcommittee set up
http://www.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp/english/news/141001.html

October, 2014
New Internal rules for use have come into effect for the use of the Noyori Lecture Room, the Chemistry Gallery and theChemistry Lounge in the Noyori Materials Science Laboratory.
http://www.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp/english/news/141031.html

November, 2014
Special lecture of Ambassador of the Republic ofSouth Africa was held at Noyori Lecture Hall.
          Ambassador Mohau Pheko

December, 2014
Designated Professor Kazuyuki Tatsumi selected as a new member of the Japan Academy.
http://www.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp/news/141215.html

23

RCMS NEWS

Staff List
Director

Professor(2487)

awaga@mbox.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Special Advisor

University Professor Ryoji Noyori(2291)

yamaguchi@mbox.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Assistant Professor Shohei Saito(5750)

s_saito@mail.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Assistant Professor Kei Murakami(4525)

murakami@chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Research Fellow

Gore Sangram(2960)

gore@os.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Professor

Mizuki Tada

(6200)

mtada@chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Associate Professor Hideo Takagi(5473)

htakagi@chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Assistant Professor Yasuyuki Yamada(2471)

yy@chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Designated Professor Kazuyuki Tatsumi(2474)

i45100a@nucc.cc.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Professor(2487)

awaga@mbox.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Assistant Professor Akitaka Matsuda(2945)

amatsuda@chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Assistant Professor Haruka Omachi(3660)

omachi.haruka@a.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Biomaterials
Research

Professor(3049)

p47297a@nucc.cc.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Associate Professor Yasushi Tamura(2950)

tamura@chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Molecular
Catalysis

University Professor Ryoji Noyori(2956)

noyori@chem3.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Assistant Professor Hiroshi Naka

(5411)

h_naka@nagoya-u.jp

Assistant Professor Shinji Tanaka(2960)

tanaka@os.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Organic Synthesis Professor

Inorganic
Synthesis

Functional
Materials

Kunio Awaga

Shigehiro Yamaguchi

Kunio Awaga

Yoshihito Watanabe

Collaborative
Studies

Guest Professor

Masahiro Irie (Designated Professor, Rikkyo University)

Guest Professor

Hassan Refat Moustafa (Professor, Assiut University)

ChemicalInstrumentation
Facility

Manager / Professor Shigehiro Yamaguchi(2291)

yamaguchi@mbox.chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Assistant Professor Chunguang Han(3072)

hanc@cic.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Technical Personnel Yutaka Maeda(3069)

maeda@cic.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Technical Personnel Kin-ichi Oyama(3069)

oyama@cic.nagoya-u.ac.jp

International Advisory Board

Michael Grunze (Professor Emeritus, Heidelberg University)
Roald Hoffman (Professor Emeritus, Cornell University – Laureate, Nobel Prize in Chemistry)
Henri Boris Kagan (Professor Emeritus, Paris-Sud 11 University)
Atsuko Tsuji (Editorial Writer, Asahi Shimbun)

Cooperating
Faculty

RCMS Office24

Professor

Hisanori Shinohara (Graduate School of Science) (2482)

noris@nagoya-u.jp

Professor

Kenichiro Itami (Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules) (6098)

itami.kenichiro@a.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Professor

Akiyoshi Hishikawa (Graduate School of Science) (2494)

hishi@chem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Professor

Masato Kitamura (Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences) (2957)

kitamura@os.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Associate Professor Susumu Saito (Institute for Advanced Research) (5945)

saito.susumu@f.mbox.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Distinguished Invited
Sumio Iijima
University Professor(6460)

iijimas@nagoya-u.jp

Administrative Staff Yuko Kihara(5907)

kihara@os.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Administrative Staff Sakiko Komura(5902)

komura@os.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Administrative Staff Sonoe Tankiku(5908)

tankiku@os.rcms.nagoya-u.ac.jp