Chemistry Seminar - Gain by Strain: Donor-Acceptor Cyclopropanes to Access Carbo- and Heterocyclic Compounds

Title: Gain by Strain: Donor-Acceptor Cyclopropanes to Access Carbo- and Heterocyclic Compounds

Speaker: Professor Daniel Werz, visiting from Albert-Ludwigs-Universität

Abstract: Donor-acceptor cyclopropanes (DACs) are highly strained entities which are unique building blocks for hetero- and carbocyclic systems. For the last decade, we have been developing novel methodologies starting from these type of three-membered rings leading to oligopyrroles, chalcogen-containing heterocycles, and 1,3-bisfunctionalized products, just to name a few. To get deeper insights into their intrinsic reactivity in-depth physical organic studies were performed recently.

Bio: Daniel B. Werz studied chemistry at the University of Heidelberg (Germany) and University of Bristol (UK) supported by the German National Merit Foundation. After finishing his PhD thesis on electron-rich alkynes in 2003 he started postdoctoral work with Peter H. Seeberger at ETH Zurich (Switzerland). After his habilitation in 2011 at Göttingen University he became Associate and Full Professor in Braunschweig. In 2022 he moved to his present position as Full Professor and Chair of Organic Chemistry at the University of Freiburg (Germany). He has been a visiting professor in Kyoto (Japan), in Tel Aviv (Israel), in Mumbai and in Guwahati (India). His research interests ranging from strained ring systems, to cascade reactions, carbohydrate and fluorophore chemistry were documented in more than 250 publications.