Key words: Organometallic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Catalysis, Small Molecule Activations

Our research group currently focuses on molecular complexes in unusual oxidation states, especially in unusually low oxidation states.  Some ongoing projects include: 

· Transition metals in negative oxidation states (group 6 and group 8 metals); 

· Main group elements in low oxidation states (such as Al(I) complexes); 

· Early transition metals in low oxidation states; 

· Redox chemistry of late transition metal imides. 

In addition to structural characterization, we are also interested in their applications in the activation of N2, CO, and inert C-X bonds.

09/2008 – 07/2013:

Ph.D. Organic Chemistry, State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, P.R. China

Advisor: Prof. Yaofeng Chen (yaofchen@sioc.ac.cn)

Research Field: Rare-earth terminal imido chemistry

Thesis Title: Synthesis, Structure, and Reactivity Studies of Rare-earth Metal Terminal Imido Complexes.

09/2004 – 06/2008:

B.S. Chemistry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, P. R. China

09/2025– now: Professor, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

Research Field: Organometallic Chemistry.

01/2020– 08/2025: Associate Professor, School of Chemical Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. 

Research Field: Organometallic Chemistry.

04/2018– 12/2019: Postdoctoral Researcher with Prof. Nathaniel K. Szymczak, Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan. (nszym@umich.edu)

Research Field: Small molecule activation by late transition metal complexes with secondary coordination sphere.

04/2016– 03/2018: Postdoctoral Researcher with Prof. Gabriel Ménard, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Santa Barbara. (menard@chem.ucsb.edu)

Research Field: Model complexes for VPO (vanadium-phosphorus-oxide) catalysts, as well as the role of transition metal-main group element corporation in VPO catalysis.

04/2014 – 03/2016: Postdoctoral Researcher with Prof. Guy Bertrand, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego. (guybertrand@ucsd.edu)

Research Field: Synthesis of functionalized Cyclic (Alkyl)(amino)carbenes (CAACs) and applications in organometallic chemistry

07/2013 – 03/2014: Research Assistant in Prof. Yaofeng Chen’s Group, State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai, P.R. China

Research Field: Rare-earth terminal imido chemistry

Publication at UCAS (Since 2020):

26. Synthesis and Structures of Formal Ni(I/II/III) Imido Complexes. 

Baolu Wang,‡ Qiyi Miao,‡ Shiying Zhang,‡ Cuijuan Zhang, Shengfa Ye,* and Jiaxiang Chu*   

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2026, 148, 25446. (contribution equally)

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.6c00156

25. Activation of Dihydrogen and Phenylsilane with Fe(−II) Carbonyl Complexes Enabled by a Lewis Acid in the Secondary Coordination Sphere. 

Sheng Yan, Cuijuan Zhang,* and Jiaxiang Chu*  

Inorg. Chem. 2026, 65, 9135.

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6c00755

24. Room Temperature Ring Opening of Benzene by Four-electron Reduction and Carbonylation. 

Leiyang Zhang,‡ Ziang Jiang,‡ Cuijuan Zhang,‡ Kehang Cheng, Songyang Li, Yueze Gao, Xiaotai Wang,* and Jiaxiang Chu* 

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 25017. (contribution equally)

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.5c08414

Selected as "molecules of the year 2025" by C&EN:

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/cen-10323-cover

highlighted by C&EN: "Metal complexes rip open benzene"

https://cen.acs.org/physical-chemistry/chemical-bonding/Metal-complexes-rip-open-benzene/103/web/2025/07

23. Transition-Metal-Free Carbonyl Redox: A Ketene in Three Oxidation States.

Liankun Ai, Xinyue Meng, Songyang Li, Cuijuan Zhang, Dominik Munz,* and Jiaxiang Chu* 

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2025, 64, e202515888. 

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202515888

highlighted by Trends in Chemistry: Main-group mimics of transition-metal carbonyl redox chemistry

https://www.cell.com/trends/chemistry/fulltext/S2589-5974(25)00286-2?rss=yes&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=dlvr.it

22. Carbocation-Coupled Electron Transfer: An α-Ferrocenylmethylium as a Masked Primary Alkyl Radical. 

Jiyong Li, Songyang Li, Cuijuan Zhang, Liankun Ai, and Jiaxiang Chu* 

Inorg. Chem., 2025, 64, 23115 (invited for special issue "Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Coordination Chemistry")

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c04581

21. Direct Synthesis of Alkyl Amines from Dinitrogen and Alkenes. 

Jinhui Wang, Yanwei Cao, Cuijuan Zhang, Lin He,* and Jiaxiang Chu* 

Green Carbon 2025, 3, 44 (commentary).

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2950155524000612

20. Reactivity of an Iron Carbonyl Dianion Dictated by a Lewis Basic Appendant. 

Xiaohu Zhang, Xueying Guo,* and Jiaxiang Chu* 

Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2024, e202300616 (Invited for the themed issue entitled EurJInorg Talents; selected as cover Feature; selected as Wiley china Excellent Author Program, January-March 2024).

https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejic.202300616

Cover Feature: Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2024, e202400216.

https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ejic.202400216

19. Elucidation of Organometallic Reaction Mechanisms by a China–Germany Team. 

Cuijuan Zhang, Fabian Dankert, Ziang Jiang, Baolu Wang, Dominik Munz,* and Jiaxiang Chu* 

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, e202314198 (team profile).

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202314198

18. Evidence for Carbene Intermediates in Isocyanide Homologation by Aluminium(I). Cuijuan Zhang, Fabian Dankert, Ziang Jiang, Baolu Wang, Dominik Munz,* and Jiaxiang Chu* 

Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202307352.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/anie.202307352

17.A Borane Lewis Acid in the Secondary Coordination Sphere of a Ni(II) Imido Imparts Distinct C-H Activation Selectivity. Baolu Wang,+ Chris S. G. Seo,+ Cuijuan Zhang, Jiaxiang Chu* and Nathaniel K. Szymczak* 

J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 15793. (contribution equally) 

 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.2c06662

highlighted by C&EN: "Functional group not directly on metal changes its behavior"

https://cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs-meeting-news/Functional-group-directly-metal-changes/100/web/2022/08

highlighted by Trends in Chemistry: "Remixing the secondary coordination sphere"

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2589597423001181

Prior to UCAS (2011-2019):

16. Redox-Controlled Reactivity at Boron: Parallels to Frustrated Lewis/Radical Pair Chemistry. Anthony Wong+, Jiaxiang Chu+, Guang Wu, Joshua Telser, Roman Dobrovetsky, and Gabriel Ménard*

Inorg. Chem. 2020, 59, 10343. (contribution equally)  

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c01464

15. Neutral and Anionic Monomeric Zirconium Imides Prepared via Selective C=N Bond Cleavage of a Multidentate and Sterically Demanding   b-Diketiminato Ligand.   

• Takashi Kurogi, Jiaxiang Chu, Yaofeng Chen,* and Daniel J. Mindiola*   
• Chem. Asia J. 2019, 14, 2629.  
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/asia.201900451    
•   
• 14. Probing hydrogen atom transfer at a phosphorus(V) oxide bond using a “bulky hydrogen atom” surrogate: analogies to PCET.   
• Jiaxiang Chu, Timothy G. Carroll, Guang Wu, Joshua Telser, Roman Dobrovetsky,* and Gabriel Ménard*   
• J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 15375.                                 
•        https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.8b09063    
•    13. Scandium Terminal Imido Chemistry.   
•    Erli Lu, Jiaxiang Chu, Yaofeng Chen.*   
•    Acc. Chem. Res. 2018, 51, 557.    
•    https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.accounts.7b00605                 
•                   
•    12. Reactivity of scandium terminal imido complex towards boranes: C(sp³)-H bond borylation and B–O bond cleavage.   
•    Jiaxiang Chu, Chen Wang, Li Xiang, Xuebing Leng, Yaofeng Chen.*   
•   Organometallics 2017, 36, 4620. (Invited for the themed issue entitled “Organometallic Actinide and Lanthanide Chemistry”)    
•     https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.organomet.7b00452          
•        
•     
•    11. NHC-CAAC heterodimers with three stable oxidation states.   
•   Dominik Munz⁺, Jiaxiang Chu⁺, Mohand Melaimi, and Guy Bertrand.*   
•    Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 12886. (contribution equally)   
•     https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.201607537          
•        
•   
• 10. Synthesis of hemilabile cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbenes (CAACs) and applications in organometallic chemistry.  
• Jiaxiang Chu, Dominik Munz, Rodolphe Jazzar, Mohand Melaimi, Guy Bertrand.*  
• J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2016, 138, 7884.    
•  https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.6b05221     
•     
• 9. Air-stable cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene copper complexes as catalysts for the hydrolytic dehydrogenation of BH₃NH₃: isolation of a CuBH₄ complex supported by a single ligand.  
• Xingbang Hu; Michèle Soleihavoup; Mohand Melaimi; Jiaxiang Chu; Guy Bertrand.*   
• Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2015, 54, 6008.  
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.201500224  

•    8. Scandium terminal imido complex induced intramolecular C–N bond cleavage and transformation.     
•   Jiaxiang Chu; Qinghai Zhou; Yuxue Li;* Xuebing Leng; Yaofeng Chen.*     
•   Sci. China. Chem. 2014, 57, 1098.     
•     https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11426-014-5117-8          
•       
•                  
•   7. Lewis acid triggered reactivity of a lewis base stabilized scandium terminal imido complex: C−H bond activation, cycloaddition, and dehydrofluorination.”   
•   Jiaxiang Chu; Xianghao Han; Christos E. Kefalidis; Jiliang Zhou; Laurent Maron;* Xuebing Leng; Yaofeng Chen.*   
•   J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 10894.    
•     https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja5061559         
•                  
•   6. Chameleon behavior of a newly synthesized scandium nitrilimine derivative.   
•   Jiaxiang Chu; Christos E. Kefalidis; Laurent Maron;* Xuebing Leng; Yaofeng Chen.*   
•   J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2013, 135, 8165.  
•     https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja403387v           
•     
•   5. An yttrium hydride-silane complex as a structural model for a σ-bond metathesis transition state.   
•   Jiliang Zhou; Jiaxiang Chu; Yanyan Zhang; Guang Yang; Xuebing Leng; Yaofeng Chen.*   
•   Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2013, 52, 4243.    
•     https://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.201300638          
•               
• 4. Reversible addition of Si-H bond of phenylsilane to Sc=N bond of scandium terminal imido complex. 
• Jiaxiang Chu; Erli Lu; Yaofeng Chen;* Xuebing Leng.  
• Organometallics 2013, 32, 1137. (Invited for the themed issue entitled “Recent Advances in Organo-f-Element Chemistry”).  
• https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/om3010349     
•          
•    3. Reactivity of a scandium terminal imido complex towards inorganic and organometallic halides.   
•   Erli Lu; Qinghai Zhou; Yuxue Li; Jiaxiang Chu; Yaofeng Chen;* Xuebing Leng; Jie Sun.   
•   Chem. Commun. 2012, 48, 3403.    
•     https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2012/cc/c2cc30220a#!divAbstract          
•      
• 2. Scandium terminal imido complex induced C-H bond selenation and formation of an Sc-Se bond. 
• Erli Lu; Jiaxiang Chu; Yaofeng Chen;* Maxim V. Borzov; Guangyu Li.  
• Chem. Commun. 2011, 47, 743.  
• https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2011/cc/c0cc03212c#!divAbstract 
•         
•  1. Reactivity of a scandium terminal imido complex towards unsaturated substrates.   
•     Jiaxiang Chu; Erli Lu; Zhixiao Liu; Yaofeng Chen;* Xuebing Leng; Haibin Song.   
•   Angew. Chem., Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 7677.         
• https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/anie.201102267

Organometallic Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Cooridination Chemistry, Catalysis, Small Molecule Activations

1.     “Towards inert C—H bond functionalization using main group multiple bonds.” (Oral Presentation) Jiaxiang Chu, Gabriel Ménard* The 253rd ACS National Meeting & Exposition, San Francisco, California, April, 2017.

2.     “Donor-functionalized cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbenes (CAACs): synthesis, coordination, and catalysis.” (Oral Presentation) Jiaxiang Chu, Dominik Munz, Mohand Melaimi, Rodolphe Jazzar, Guy Bertrand* The 251st ACS National Meeting & Exposition, San Diego, California, March, 2016.

3.     “Reactivity of scandium terminal imido complexes.” (Poster Presentation) Jiaxiang Chu, Erli Lu, Zhixiao Liu, Yaofeng Chen.* The 16^th IUPAC International Symposium on Organometallic Chemistry Directed Towards Organic Synthesis (OMCOS 16) at Shanghai, China July, 2011.

4.     “Synthesis and reactivity of scandium terminal imido complexes.” (Poster Presentation) Jiaxiang Chu, Erli Lu, Zhixiao Liu, Yaofeng Chen.* The 25^th International Conference on Organometallic Chemistry (ICOMC 25) at Lisbon, Portugal September, 2012.

5.     “Synthesis and reactivity of scandium terminal imido complexes.” (Poster Presentation) Jiaxiang Chu, Erli Lu, Zhixiao Liu, Yaofeng Chen.* The 17^th National Conference on Organometallic Chemistry at Beijing, China October, 2012.

现指导学生

严胜  硕士研究生  070303-有机化学  

张小虎  硕士研究生  085600-材料与化工  

艾连昆  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

张诗英  硕士研究生  085600-材料与化工  

王宝禄  博士研究生  070303-有机化学  

2015 Ph.D. with highest distinction, for Graduate Students in Shanghai.

2012 – 2013 Merit Student, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

2011 – 2012 Merit Student, Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Dec 2012 M. Braun Award, State Key Laboratory of Organometallic Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry (SIOC).

Oct 2012 Best Poster Prize, the 17^th National Conference on Organometallic Chemistry in China.