Maria Sansores-Paredes wins the KNCV- Backer Prize 2024
The KNCV-Backer Prize is awarded annually to the best PhD thesis in the field of organic chemistry that was defended in the Netherlands. The Committee consisted of Marthe Walvoort (Chair), Bauke Albada, Ronald Tennebroek and Rienk Eelkema; experts in a wide range of disciplines within the organic chemistry field.
In total, 16 theses were submitted this year. They were judged based on the
scientific quality and their contributions to the field, the impact of the research
on science and society, and the clarity and structure of the thesis. The jury
was impressed by the quality of all theses. After extensive deliberations, the
jury has decided to award the 2024 KNCV Backer prize to Maria Sansores-
Paredes for her PhD titled ‘Metal-ligand cooperativity at nickel p-complexes
for the stabilization of reactive intermediates and hydrogenation catalysis’. The study was conducted at the University of Utrecht under the guidance of Profs. Marc-Etienne Moret and Bert Klein Gebbink.
Hydrogenation of alkenes and alkynes is one of the reactions taught in the
introductory organic chemistry courses. The textbook catalyst for this
transformation is the Lindlar catalyst, which is a poisoned dispersion of
palladium on an inorganic support material. In her dissertation, Dr. Sansores-
Paredes developed a nickel-based catalyst supported by a pincer ligand that
enables this reaction. Broadly speaking, the replacement of precious rare
transition metals with their more common congeners is highly sought after due to its implication in sustainability.
The catalyst that Dr. Sansores-Paredes developed utilises an underexplored
mode of activation of molecular hydrogen in which the metal cooperates with
the ligand. While this mode lends the title to the thesis, Dr. Sansores-Paredes
demonstrated in her thesis that this cooperation can be explored in other
transformations as well.
The thesis of Dr. Sansores-Paredes reads like a great novel. In six
experimental research chapters, she unfolds the various aspects of Ni-pincer
complexes. The jury was especially impressed by her work on the nickel-
catalyzed Z-selective semihydrogenation of alkynes.
The scientific quality of the thesis is further reflected by several high-impact
publications including one in Angew Chem Int Ed and one in Nature
Chemistry. The findings of each chapter are thoroughly supported by NMR
studies, computational chemistry, X-ray crystallography and, where
applicable, kinetic measurements. Furthermore, the thesis is also visually
pleasing with consistent use of colours, well-crafted text and high-quality
schemes and figures.
The outstanding quality of the synthetic work, the clearly written thesis, and
the impact the results will have on the field of catalytic hydrogenations in
organic chemistry convinced the jury to declare this thesis as the winner of the 2024 KNCV _Backer prize.
Award winners of previous years
2024 dr Maria Sansores-Paredes: ‘‘Metal-ligand cooperativity at nickel p-complexes for the stabilization of reactive intermediates and hydrogenation catalysis’.
2023 dr Youxin Fu: ‘Phenanthrenequinone Photoclick Chemistry’
2022 dr Jana Volaric: ‘Water-soluble Azobenzene Photoswitches for Controlling Biological Systems’.
2021, dr Mira Holzheimer:’On the Total Synthesis of Archaeal and Mycobacterial Natural Products’
2020, dr Thomas Hansen: ‘Glycosyl Cations in Glycosylation Reactions’
2019, dr. Kananat Naksomboon: ‘Bidentate ligand-promoted Palladium-catalyzed C-H olefination of aromatic compounds’
2018, dr. Michael Lerch : ‘DASA Donor-Acceptor Stenhouse Adducts’
2017, Dr. Albert Wong: ‘Synthesis of out-of-equilibrium reaction networks’
2016, Dr. Mu-Chieh Chang: ‘Formazanate as a Redox-Active, Structurally Versatile Ligand Platform’
2015, Dr. Massimo Giannerini: ‘Advancing selectivity control with highly reactive organometallic reagents’
2014, Dr. Lianne Willems: ‘Direct and Two-Step Activity-Based Profiling of Proteases and Glycosidases’
2013, Dr. Danny Geerdink: ‘Total synthesis of enantiopure lipids on mycobacterial glycolipids and a putative sex pheromone of Trichogramma turkestanica‘
2012, Dr. Marthe Walvoort: ‘On the reactivity and selectivity of donor glycosides in glycochemistry and glycobiology’
2011, Dr. Dennis Waalboer: ‘Synthetic Studies on Terpene Natural Products’
2010, Dr. Wim Noorduin: ‘Single Chirality Through Crystal Grinding’
2009, Dr. Martin Witte: ‘Activity-based profiling of glycoconjugate processing enzymes’
2008, Dr. Hans de Boer: ‘Cis-dihydroxylation and epoxidation of alkenes by manganese catalysts, selectivity, reactivity and mechanism’
2007, Dr. Robin Bon: ‘Development and Application of Novel Multicomponent Reactions using a-acidic Isocyanides’
2006, Dr. Rienk Eelkema: ‘Liquid Crystals as Amplifiers of Molecular Chirality’
2005, Dr. Sander Kluwer: ‘Palladium-catalyzed stereoselective hydrogenation of alkynes to (Z)-alkenes in common solvents and supercritical CO2‘
2004, Dr. Xuemei Li: ‘Catalytic Approaches to Nanolithography’
2003, Dr. F.M.H. de Groot: ‘New Approaches in Selective Chemotherapy with Tumor-Activated Prodrugs’
2002, Dr. ir. Leonard Prins: ‘Non-covalent Synthesis of chiral Hydrogen-bonded Assemblies’
2001, Dr. Martin Albrecht: ‘Sensors, switches and catalysts: New applications of organometallic materials’
2000, Dr. Maurice van Eis: ‘Small meatcyclophane: New challenges and new surprises’
1999, Dr. Felix Beijer: ‘Bouwen met waterstofbruggen’
1998, Dr. H.P.M. Huck: ‘Chiroptical Molecular Switches’
1997, Dr. Evelien Rijnberg: ‘Zincates and Zinc Thiolates: Structural Aspects and Enantioselective Catalysis’
1996, R.A.T.M. van Benthem: ‘Palladium cluster gekatalyseerde oxidatieve cyclisaties’
1995, Dr. P. Timmerman: ‘Molecules with rigid cavities by combination of calix[4]arenes and resorcinares’