At the invitation of the Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy, Professor Victor Chernyshev from the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia will deliver an academic lecture on September 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in Conference Room 911 of the Biomass Energy Building.

Lecture Title: Alternative Roles of NHC Ligands in Transition Metal Catalysis

Abstract: In transition metal catalysis, N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) are traditionally regarded as ligands that stabilize active metal centers through the formation of a strong metal–carbene bond. Although this function of NHC ligands remains central, studies over the past 10–12 years have revealed the importance of dynamic processes involving cleavage and formation of the metal–carbene bond in the operation of catalytic systems and have demonstrated the possibility of NHC ligands performing alternative functions.

The report discusses modern concepts of the role of NHC ligands in transition metal catalysis, taking into account the dynamic processes of metal–carbene bond cleavage and formation. It is shown that NHCs can act not only as stabilizers of active centers but also as regulators of the rate of release of active species, precursors of ionic stabilizers of active species, selective inhibitors of side catalytic processes, and organocatalysts under cooperative metal/NHC catalysis. Particular attention in the report is devoted to novel methodologies for the selective functionalization of biomass-derived furan and related compounds under transition metal catalysis promoted by NHC ligands.

Speaker Profile:Victor Chernyshev, male, born in March 1974. He received his Ph.D. from Yaroslavl State Technical University in 2000 and worked at the Platov South Russian National Polytechnic University (NPI), where he was promoted to professor in 2012. In 2016, he was awarded the title of “Honored Worker of Science and Technology of the Russian Federation”; in 2018, he received the “Presidential Award for Science and Education of the Russian Federation”; and in 2022, he was awarded the title of “Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences.” Since January 2024, he has been working at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology as a Chief Scientist. He currently also serves as Director of the Joint Research Center for Nanotechnology, Director of the Laboratory of Catalytic Technologies for Processing Carbonaceous Materials, and Head of the Spectroscopy and Chromatography Laboratory at the Institute of Nanotechnology and New Materials at the Platov South Russian National Polytechnic University (NPI). His research focuses primarily on the organic synthesis of heterocyclic compounds, transition metal catalysis, the preparation of NHC-metal complexes, and the synthesis of furan derivatives from lignocellulose. He has led more than 20 projects at various levels, with total funding exceeding 100 million rubles. He has published over 100 papers in chemistry journals such as *Angewandte Chemie International Edition*, *Coordination Chemistry Reviews*, and *ACS Catalysis*, and has filed more than 10 patent applications.