Selective catalysis for C-H bond activation is a process that enables fast and more sustainable access to structurally diverse compounds from organic building blocks in a single step. This can rapidly unlock unexplored chemical space for applications ranging from medicinal design to materials chemistry.
Nik Chekshin, a doctoral researcher in the lab of Professor Jin-Quan Yu, PhD, the Bristol Myers Squibb Endowed Chair in Chemistry, has been awarded the prestigious 2024 IPMI Johnson Matthey Award from the International Precious Metals Institute (IPMI) to further his work in this area. The annual IPMI awards recognize eight individuals in doctoral programs worldwide for outstanding contributions and impact of research using precious metal catalysts. Specifically, Chekshin is being recognized for his work in developing Pd-catalyzed selective C-H functionalization methods through ligand design, which he was invited to present at the 48th Annual IPMI Conference in Orlando, Fla.
The award is organized by the IPMI Foundation and sponsored by Johnson Matthey, a global leader in catalysis and sustainable technology solutions that help companies in the energy, chemicals and automotive industries reduce harmful emissions and decarbonize, emphasizing most impactful research involving palladium-based catalysts.
In the Yu lab, researchers focus on the design and development of selective catalysis for C-H bond activation. The C-H breaking and functionalization steps are enabled by Pd-based catalysts bearing precisely engineered ligands—small molecules which bind to the metal and facilitate selective C-H bond cleavage. Novel ligands are designed, synthesized and tested in a synergistic cycle of computational modeling, organic synthesis and high-throughput screening.
Chekshin has contributed to over 18 projects in the Yu lab and in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies, such as the design and mechanistic exploration of Pd catalysts for selective hydroxylation of heterocycles with molecular oxygen and divergent dehydrogenative reactions of free aliphatic acids. His most recent work has been focused on developing Pd-catalyzed enantioselective nucleophilic C(sp3)-H fluorination, which was applied to radiolabeling and synthesis of medicinally relevant targets in collaboration with BMS.