Research Assistant Professor
Room 252 Science Centre
(852) 3943 5667
Education
| 2011 | Ph.D. | Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| 2005 | B. Sc. | Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
Position
| Since 2024 | Research Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, The Chinese University of Hong Kong |
| 2017 – 2024 | Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, School of Science, Tianjin University |
| 2013 – 2017 | Postdoc., Laboratory of Inorganic Synthesis and Catalysis, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) |
| 2011 – 2013 | Postdoc., Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) |
Research Interests
Our main research goal is to develop synthetic methods to access organic compounds potentially valuable in academia and industry.
Current research topics include:
| 1 | Base metal catalysis |
| 2 | Photocatalysis |
| 3 | Carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bond formation reactions |
| 4 | Bond activation for organic synthesis |
Honours and Awards
| 2020 | RSC ChemComm Emerging Investigator 2020 |
| 2011 | Croucher Foundation Fellowship, Hong Kong |
Representative Publications
| 1 | Zhong-Wei Zhang, Zhe Feng, Jun-An Ma*, Chi Wai Cheung* “Metallaphotocatalytic Synthesis of Anilines through Tandem C–N Transposition and C–H Alkylation of Alkylamines” Nat. Synth. 2023, 2, 1171–1183. (Highlighted in Nat. Synth. “News & Views: Nickel and light combine for amine synthesis”) |
| 2 | Tongtong Zheng, Zhe Feng, Jun-An Ma*, Chi Wai Cheung* “Dual Nickel/Photoredox-Catalyzed Synthesis of N-formyl N,N’-Diaryl Ethylenediamines via Multiple C-N/C-C Coupling of Nitroarenes with Trimethylamine” Adv. Synth. Catal. 2023, 365, 2377–2384. |
| 3 | Zhe Feng, Jun-An Ma*, Chi Wai Cheung* “Ni-Catalysed intramolecular reductive aminocarbonylation of 2-haloaryl-tethered nitroarenes for the synthesis of dibenzazepine-based heterocycles” Org. Chem. Front. 2022, 9, 3869–3875. |
| 4 | Fang-Fang Feng, Xuan-Yu Liu, Chi Wai Cheung*, Jun-An Ma* “Tungsten-Catalyzed Transamidation of Tertiary Alkyl Amides” ACS Catal. 2021, 11, 7070–7079. |
| 5 | Ni Shen, Shi-Jing Zhai, Chi Wai Cheung*, Jun-An Ma* “Direct N-formylation of Nitroarenes with CO2” Chem. Commun. 2020, 56, 9620–9623. |
| 6 | Ni Shen, Chi Wai Cheung*, Jun-An Ma* “Direct Amide Synthesis via Ni-mediated Aminocarbonylation of Arylboronic Acids with CO and Nitroarenes” Chem. Commun. 2019, 55, 13709–13712. |
| 7 | Shao-Peng Wang, Chi Wai Cheung*, Jun-An Ma* “Direct Amidation of Carboxylic Acids with Nitroarenes” J. Org. Chem. 2019, 84, 13922–13934. |
| 8 | Chi Wai Cheung*, Ni Shen, Shao-Peng Wang, Asim Ullah, Xile Hu, Jun-An Ma* “Manganese-Mediated Reductive Amidation of Ester with Nitroarenes” Org. Chem. Front. 2019, 6, 756–761. |
| 9 | Chi Wai Cheung, Jun-An Ma, Xile Hu* “Manganese-Mediated Reductive Transamidation of Tertiary Amides with Nitroarenes” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 6789–6792. |
Research Grants
| 1 | General Research Fund – National Natural Science Foundation of China (2023/01/01–2026/12/31), “Study on multicomponent amination based on trialkylamines and nitroarenes”, Grant No. 22271216, CNY 540,000). |
| 2 | General Research Fund – National Natural Science Foundation of China (2020/01/01 – 2023/12/31, “Study on Direct Amide Synthesis using Nitroarenes as Arylamine Surrogates and Carbon Dioxide as Carbonyl Source”, Grant No. 21971186, CNY 660,000). |