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Qilei Zhu

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Catalysis, photochemistry, electrochemistry, sustainable synthesis, pharmaceutical discovery

Zhu Photo

Biological Chemistry Program

Education

B.S. Peking University

Ph.D. Princeton University

 

Research

Our research focuses on developing new ways to make chemical reactions more selective, efficient, and environmentally friendly. In particular, we study transformations that use light or electricity to generate highly reactive radical species—an approach that allows us to modify molecules under mild, biocompatible conditions similar to those found in living systems. We are pursuing two main directions. First, we design electrochemical methods to selectively convert common building blocks such as alcohols and amines, which are abundant in nature and in pharmaceuticals. Second, we develop light-driven catalysts that can directly transform strong C–H bonds in both aromatic and aliphatic structures, a long-standing challenge in chemistry and drug discovery. By combining these strategies, our goal is to create sustainable reaction platforms that mirror the efficiency and selectivity of biochemical processes, opening new opportunities in medicinal chemistry, chemical biology, and green synthesis.

References

Selected Publications

  1. Electrochemical Synthesis of Aziridines, Pyrrolidines and Oxazolines Enabled by Azo-Free Alcohol Amination. Hale, E. A.; Zhu, Q.* Chem. Sci.202516, 15216–15222
  2. Electrochemical Cyanation of Alcohols Enabled by an Iodide-Mediated Phosphine P(V/III) Redox Couple. Guo, X.; Price, N. G.; Zhu, Q.* Org. Lett.2024, 26, 7347–7351 
  3. Threonine Aldolase-Catalyzed Enantioselective α-Alkylation of Amino Acids through Unconventional Photoinduced Radical Initiation. Wang, T.-C.; Zhang, Z.; Rao, G.; Li, J.; Shirah, J.; Britt, R. D.; Zhu, Q.*; Yang, Y.* J. Am. Chem. Soc.2024146, 22476–22484
  4. Disulfide radical anion as a super-reductant in biology and photoredox chemistry. Zhu, Q.*; Costentin, C.; Stubbe, J.; Nocera, D. G.* Chem. Sci.2023,14, 6876–6881.
Last Updated: 9/4/25