Recently, the research group of Professor Chen Yifeng from Feringa Nobel Prize Scientists Joint Research Center of School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, ECUST, published a research article entitled “Modular α-tertiary amino estersynthesis through cobalt-catalyzed asymmetric aza-Barbier reaction” in Nature Chemistry, and reported online the new progress in the efficient synthesis of chiral α-quaternary amino acid derivatives.

The research was mainly conducted by Wu Xianqing, a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering and received careful guidance from Professor Qu Jingping. The research article was corresponding authored by Professor Chen Yifeng. The research work has been funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Shanghai Natural Science Foundation, Shanghai Qixing Project, Feringa Nobel Prize Scientists Joint Research Center, Frontier Science Center of the Ministry of Materials Biology and Dynamic Chemistry, Shanghai Sailing Plan, Basic Scientific Research Operating Expenses of central universities, and China Postdoctoral Science Fund.