Merck-Banyu Lectureship: Professor Koji Kubota, Hokkaido University
About the Seminar
"Exploring Synthetic Mechanochemistry"
In recent years, ball milling techniques have gained considerable attention in organic synthesis as ecofriendly and sustainable alternatives to traditional solution-based methods. Beyond their environmental advantages, mechanochemical protocols offer access to previously unexplored regions of chemical space that are often inaccessible through conventional approaches. In this context, our research focuses on the design and development of novel organic transformations driven by mechanical forces within a ball mill. In this lecture, I will present our latest findings on novel synthetic concepts and strategies that leverage the unique reaction environment of mechanochemistry, going beyond simply adapting known solution phase reactions to solid state conditions.[1-12]
Reference
[1] Kondo, K.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Nature Synth. 2025, 4, 744.
[2] Kubota, K.; Jiang, J.; Kamakura, Y.; Hisazumi, R.; Endo, T.; Miura, D.; Kubo, S.; Maeda, S.; Ito, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 1062.
[3] Seo, T.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145, 6823.
[4] Seo, T.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202311531.
[5] Gao, Y.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2023, 62, e202217723.
[6] Gao, P.; Jiang, J.; Maeda, S.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202207118.
[7] Takahashi, R.; Hu, A.; Gao, P.; Gao, Y.; Pang, Y.; Seo, T.; Maeda, S.; Jiang, J.; Takaya, H.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. Nature Commun. 2021, 12, 6691.
[8] Seo, T.; Toyoshima, N; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 6165.
[9] Kubota, K.; Toyoshima, N.; Miura, D.; Jiang, J.; Maeda, S.; Jin, M.*; Ito, H. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 16003.
[10] Seo, T.; Kubota, K.; Ito, H. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142, 9884
[11] Kubota, K.; Pang, Y.; Miura, A.; Ito, H. Science 2019, 366, 1500.
[12] Kubota, K.; Seo, T.; Koide, K.; Hasegawa, Y.; Ito, H. Nature Commun. 2019, 10, 111.
About the Speaker
Koji Kubota earned his Ph.D. in 2016 under the supervision of Professor Hajime Ito at Hokkaido University. He then joined the laboratory of Professor F. Dean Toste at the University of California, Berkeley as a postdoctoral fellow. In 2017, he transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and joined the laboratory of Professor Stephen L. Buchwald as a JSPS overseas research fellow. He began his academic career at Hokkaido University in 2018 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2021. His recent research interests include the development of new selective organic reactions using mechanochemistry.