Principles and Applications of Organic Electrosynthesis
Thurs., Nov. 13th, 2025, 10:15 am (China Standard Time) / Wed., Nov. 12th, 2025, 8:15 pm (CT)
About our Virtual Chemistry Lecture on Organic Electrosynthesis
In this talk, Professor Shannon S. Stahl delves into the exciting possibilities that electrochemistry offers for chemical synthesis—alongside the practical challenges that have slowed its wider use in both academic and industrial settings.
Drawing from his group’s research, Professor Stahl shared a series of real-world examples that highlight how principles from electrochemical energy conversion can be applied to synthetic chemistry. A key focus was on the use of electrochemical mediators to tackle overpotential issues, helping unlock new and more efficient oxidation and reduction reactions.
On the oxidation side, the talk introduces innovative oxygen-atom-transfer reactions that use water as the oxygen source—providing greener routes to create sulfoxides, epoxides, and N-oxides. For reductions, the spotlight is on nickel-catalyzed cross-electrophile coupling reactions, which open up new synthetic pathways with broad potential.
This session promises to offer valuable insights into how electrochemistry is evolving as a powerful tool for modern synthesis, with practical implications for both lab-scale research and industrial applications.
About our Speaker
Prof. Shannon S. Stahl
Prof. Stahl is the Steenbock Professor of Chemical Sciences in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He obtained his B.Sc. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1988. He earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech in 1997, working with Prof. John Bercaw, and he conducted
postdoctoral research at MIT from 1997–1999, working with Prof. Stephen Lippard. At UW-Madison, Prof. Stahl and his research group have studying redox catalysis, with an emphasis on aerobic oxidation and electrochemical reactions. Applications include chemical synthesis, biomass conversion, and energy storage and conversion. He coedited, with Dr. Paul L. Alsters (DSM), Liquid Phase Aerobic Oxidation Catalysis (Wiley-VCH), highlighting applications and opportunities for aerobic oxidation in industrial chemical synthesis, and he has developed an online short course on Organic Electrochemistry with Prof. Mohammad Rafiee. His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the ACS Award in Organometallic Chemistry, the Mitsui Chemicals Catalysis Science Award, the US EPA Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award and the ACS Award in Affordable Green Chemistry. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences.
About the Virtual Chemistry Lecture Series
Pharmaron’s monthly Virtual Lecture Series, launched in July 2020, provides our team and partners with online educational opportunities. World-class academic researchers are invited to present novel research related to synthetic and medicinal chemistry through this virtual forum. The lectures have been insightful and very well received by the audience and have contributed to cultivating a vibrant learning culture at Pharmaron.