Professor Véronique Gouverneur

Professor Véronique Gouverneur
University of Oxford – Chemistry Research Laboratory – Oxford (UK)
Abstract

Asymmetric Fluorination via Hydrogen Bonding Phase Transfer Catalysis

It is estimated that 90% of all chemical process are catalysed, and thus the economic impact of catalysis is significant, contributing 30–40% of global GDP. In this context, phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) is a powerful manifold for asymmetric synthesis. Chiral cationic or anionic PTC strategies have enabled a variety of transformations, yet studies on the use of insoluble inorganic salts as nucleophiles for the synthesis of enantioenriched molecules have remained elusive. A long-standing challenge is the development of methods for asymmetric carbon– fluorine bond formation from cost-effective alkali metal fluorides. In this lecture, we will describe how H-bond donors can provide a solution through fluoride binding. We will discuss how hydrogen bonding interactions impact fluoride reactivity and the role of H-bond donors as phase-transfer catalysts to bring solid-phase alkali metal fluorides in solution. These studies led to asymmetric hydrogen bonding phase-transfer catalysis (HB-PTC), a new concept crafted for alkali metal fluorides but offering opportunities beyond enantioselective fluorination. Recent aspects of synergistic HB-PTC will also be discussed.

Véronique Gouverneur

Véronique Gouverneur was born in Geel (Belgium) and received her undergraduate degree in chemistry at the Université Catholique de Louvain where she carried out research in the laboratory of Professor Léon Ghosez. She completed her doctoral studies in the same laboratory in 1991, and then joined the group of Professor Richard Lerner at the Scripps Research Institute as a postdoctoral fellow in 1992. In 1994, she moved to Strasbourg and was appointed Maître de Conferences at the University Louis Pasteur in the laboratory of Dr Charles Mioskowski, and Associate Member of the Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires, being mentored by Professor Jean-Marie Lehn. Dr Gouverneur began her independent career at the University of Oxford in 1998 as a University Lecturer and a Tutorial Fellow at Merton College. Ten years later, she became professor of chemistry. In 2022, she was appointed Waynflete Professor of Chemistry (Statutory Professorship, Magdalen College), and she founded FluoRok, a spin-out of the University of Oxford, where she is currently serving as non-executive director. 

Professor Gouverneur’s research has focused on the design and invention of new strategies for the synthesis of fluorine-containing molecules, an area of research that can directly benefit numerous sectors in the life sciences and materials science. In 2007, she started research on ¹⁸F radiochemistry for applications in Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging, a new direction considered at the time as highly specialized, not anymore as this field is rapidly expanding due to the importance of molecular imaging techniques for patient care, precision medicine, and drug development. This research has closed the gap in innovation between ¹⁹F-chemistry and ¹⁸F-radiochemistry, with the invention of numerous  ¹⁸F-labelling processes. Some of the methods she has developed are routinely employed to access  ¹⁸F-radiotracers for applications in PET. More recently, she has initiated a new programme on circular and safe fluorine chemistry. 

Professor Gouverneur’s research contributions have been recognized with numerous international awards, including ACS Arthur Cope C. Award (2022, USA), EuChemS Female Organic Chemist of the Year Award (2022, EuChemS), Prix Henri Moissan (2021, France), RSC Organic Stereochemistry Award (2019, UK), the Prelog Medal, ETH Zurich (2019, Switzerland), Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award (2018, UK), RSC Tilden Prize (2016, UK), Tetrahedron Chair BOSS XV (2016, Belgium), ACS Award for Creative Work in Fluorine Chemistry (2015, USA), Chair Internationale de Recherche Blaise Pascal ENS/CEA, Saclay (2012, France), Distinguished Woman in Chemistry Award/ACS Challenge Year of Chemistry Celebration (2011, IUPAC), Liebig Lectureship Award of the Organic Division of the German Chemical Society (2011, Germany) and the RSC Bader Award (2008, UK). 

Gouverneur was elected an International Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2022), Fellow of the Royal Society (2019), Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (EURASC) (2017), Fellow Royal Society of Chemistry (2010). She served as Chair RSC Journal Chemical Communications from 2016-2019.

Hosted by Professor William Pomerantz

Learn more about the Gassman Lectureship in Chemistry