ChemComm is publishing its 60th volume in 2024. Over the past 60 years, ChemComm has been the RSC’s most cited journal, and one of the most trusted venues for rapid publication of short communications. In our anniversary year, we recognise the important contributions ChemComm has made, and continues to make, in advancing the chemical sciences.
As part of our anniversary celebrations, we’ve brought together a collection featuring the latest research from some of our most loyal and dedicated authors. From those marking the beginning of their independent academic career by publishing their first article with us, to the rising stars and established leaders publishing in our yearly ‘Emerging Investigators’ and ‘Pioneering Investigators’ collections, this collection champions the contributions of our worldwide author community. We are proud many authors choose to support our journal by regularly publishing their best work with us. This collection also features papers from our ChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship winners, and our Outstanding Reviewer awardees, whose invaluable feedback has shaped our published content through the years.
To accompany the collection, we’ll be publishing interviews with contributing authors where they provide further insight into their research and reflect on their journey with ChemComm.
Check out our interview with David Lebœuf (Université de Strasbourg, France) below!
 |
David Lebœuf earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie (Paris 6) in 2009, under the supervision of Prof. Max Malacria. After completing two postdoctoral periods, at the University of Rochester with Prof. Alison J. Frontier (2010–2012) and at the ICIQ with Prof Antonio M. Echavarren (2012–2013), he was appointed as a CNRS researcher at the Université Paris-Saclay in 2013. In 2019, he joined the Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS, Université de Strasbourg) before moving to the Laboratoire d’Innovation Moléculaire et Applications (LIMA, Université de Strasbourg). He currently leads the team SupraCat, where his research interests focus on the application of supramolecular chemistry to catalysis, with an emphasis on the use of fluorinated alcohol hexafluoroisopropanol and how it can be used to unlock new reactivities. |
How have you seen ChemComm evolve over the years, and what aspects do you find most noteworthy?
While ChemComm has evolved regarding its format of communication (from 2 to 4 pages), the strict limitation to 4 pages (references included) still allows to go straight to the point, while highlighting seminal studies in the area of research of the study disclosed. In addition, ChemComm succeeded to adapt to its time, bringing more diversity in terms of articles with “feature articles” and “highlights”, while putting more emphasis on the contribution of talented young scientists over the world through its themed collections “First Independent Articles” and “Emerging Investigators”. However, it also did not neglect more established scientists with the collection “Pioneering Investigators”.
What is your favourite thing about ChemComm?
My two favorite things about ChemComm are, first, the fast peer-review process that allows a rapid sharing of new findings with the community and second, the fact that ChemComm kept the true spirit of communication, in which we can display new concepts and initial results without having to bend on overly extended reaction scope.
How would you describe the peer review process and interaction with the editorial team at ChemComm?
In my opinion, the peer-review process at ChemComm is efficient and fair. I personally like the fact that any study, that receives two conflicted reviews, gets automatically a third opinion to give a clear decision. The journal features a large panel of professional editors and well-established professors who have at heart the high quality of the science published. They are easy to discuss with and always give you useful feedbacks.
Could you provide a brief summary of your recent ChemComm publication?
In this communication, we report a new strategy for the preparation of tetrahydroquinolines by mimicking the well-known Povarov reaction. This approach relies on the utilization of new set of N-benzylhydroxylamine reagents that have been made popular by the group of Morandi. These hydroxylamines enable a 1,2-aryl migration to engineer the reaction sequence and represent a complementary strategy to the traditional Povarov reaction, extending its scope to highly electronically deactivated styrenes and simple aliphatic alkenes to provide a broader chemical space regarding the tetrahydroquinolines prepared.
In your opinion, what are the next steps or potential areas of research that could build upon the findings in this paper?
One of the key findings of our study is the possibility to engineer a radical 1,2-aryl migration from carbon to nitrogen. While, overall, reactions involving radical aryl migration are well-established processes, the one that we observed is much rarer. Now, the key is to successfully design new substrates that could enforce such process to develop methods and thus offer new synthetic paths to nitrogen-containing drugs.
Be sure to read David’s article, “A povarov-type reaction to access tetrahydroquinolines from N-benzylhydroxylamines and alkenes in HFIP” to learn more!
