Dmitry Katayev
Assistant Professor
PER 10 - 320
+41 26 300 8729
Dmitry Katayev was born in Kaluga, Russia in 1986. He studied at D. I. Mendeleev University of Technology (Higher Chemical College of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow)) earning a MSc in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in the end of 2008. His Master thesis was a result of fruitful collaboration between Prof. Yu. N. Belokon’ (Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds (INEOS), Moscow) and Prof. M. Makosza (Institute of Organic Chemistry (IOC), Poland Academy of Science, Warsaw). He received his doctorate degree in the group of Prof. E. P. Kündig at the University of Geneva (Switzerland) in the end of 2012. Awarded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) fellowship, he joined the research group of Prof. L. J. Gooßen at TU Kaiserslautern (Germany) as a postdoctoral researcher. In 2015, he joined the group of Prof. A. Togni at ETH Zürich (Switzerland) under SNSF return fellowship. He was awarded the SNSF Ambizione grant as well as the Holcim Stiftung, and since 2017 he was a principal investigator at ETH Zürich. As a recipient of the SNSF Eccellenza Professorial Grant, he joined the Department of Chemistry of the University of Fribourg as an Assistant Professor early in 2021.
The Katayev Research Group has a fundamental interest in developing innovative catalytic strategies, exemplified by photocatalysis, electrochemical synthesis, synergistic, transition metal and organocatalysis, in order to overcome the major challenges of modern organic synthesis. Particularly, a special focus is given on the development of direct and facile carbon-hydrogen (C-H) functionalization methodologies of substances, ranging from common feedstocks to complex molecules and materials. This spans but is not limited to the formation of C-C, C-N, and C-O bonds, including asymmetric transformations. The subsequent implementation of such methodologies in the synthesis of natural product or biorelevant compounds is one of the key goals of applied research in our laboratory. We are also engaged in detailed mechanism investigations via experimental and computational studies, as the understanding of novel catalytic methodologies will lay a foundation for further applications of these concepts, both in academia and industry.
Assistant Professor
PER 10 - 320
+41 26 300 8729