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Functional Organic Chemistry Lab
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An organic chemistry lab that uses catalysts to create chemical reactions never seen before.
AboutAbout the lab
Aiming to discover unprecedented chemical reactions and molecules
The Functional Organic Chemistry Lab studies the development of new reactions, aiming to discover chemical reactions and molecules that have never existed before.
Rather than improving the yield of existing reactions, it is committed to taking on the unknown: reactions of a pattern no one has seen before.
Its main tool is transition metal complex catalysts, and it designs the structures of the catalysts, ligands, and starting-material molecules based on hypotheses.
On the lab's website, it is introduced under the name “Tobisu Lab.”
Key terms
- Transition metal complex catalyst
- A molecule in which ligands surround a transition metal, serving as a catalyst that drives chemical reactions
- Main-group element
- An element, such as phosphorus, that is classified separately from the transition metals
- Molecular skeleton
- The part that forms the backbone of a molecule, made up mainly of strong carbon–carbon bonds
- Chemical recycling
- Breaking chemical products down to their basic raw materials so that they can be used again
NewsLab news
A doctoral student won a Poster Award at the 72nd Symposium on Organometallic Chemistry
Succeeded in photoactivating aryl iodides through a transition-metal-type reaction with the main-group element gallium
A doctoral student won the Osaka University Outstanding Research Award for Female Graduate Students
A master's student won the Osaka University Engineering Alumni Association Award for fiscal year 2025
ResearchResearch themes
This lab works on developing new reactions in order to discover chemical reactions and molecules never seen before. Mainly using transition metal complex catalysts, it designs the structures of catalysts and molecules as well as combinations of reactions.
*Illustrative imageCleaving strong chemical bonds
The lab is developing catalytic methods for converting functional groups that textbooks regard as difficult to modify directly. It has achieved a nickel-catalyzed reaction in which a methoxy group on an aromatic ring is directly substituted, and the depolymerization of high-performance polymers into monomers.
*Illustrative imageEditing molecular skeletons
Aiming at methods to edit an existing molecular skeleton into a different one, the lab is developing reactions that use the reactivity of transition metal complexes to cleave carbon–carbon bonds and either contract or expand the skeleton. If realized, this could also lead to chemical recycling.
*Illustrative imageBringing out the hidden character of elements
The lab has shown that a catalyst based on phosphorus, a main-group element, works through a catalytic mechanism involving changes in oxidation state. It synthesizes main-group element complexes bearing phenalenyl, an extended π-conjugated ligand, and is developing new main-group redox catalysts.
*Illustrative imageControlling reactive species
The lab infers the structures and characteristics of reactive species that are unstable and cannot be isolated directly, using experiments on model compounds and methods of theoretical chemistry. It discovered a reaction in which an N-heterocyclic carbene acts as an equivalent of a carbon atom, opening the way to a new reaction concept.
MembersFaculty
The Functional Organic Chemistry Lab consists of faculty members, visiting professors and other visiting faculty, postdoctoral researchers, administrative assistants, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and research students.As of 2026
- ProfessorMamoru Tobisu
- Assistant ProfessorTakuya Kodama
- Assistant ProfessorHayato Fujimoto
VoicesStudent voices
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Schlenk filtration” Self / Public domain (cropped)
- Cleaving strong chemical bonds: “Fume hood MB” Miha Bukleski / CC BY 4.0 (cropped)
- Editing molecular skeletons: “Cubane molecule ball” Jynto (more from this user) / CC0 (cropped)
- Bringing out the hidden character of elements: “Sample of Phosphorus pentoxide” LHcheM / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped)
- Controlling reactive species: “Carbene structure” Lumbar / Public domain (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Design Chemistry Lab): “Schrenk tube” Iodomethane / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Physical Organic Chemistry Lab): “Sumanene-3D-balls” Jynto (talk) / CC0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Molecular Catalytic Chemistry Lab): “Vintage laboratory glassware, Chemical Faculty, Gdansk University of Technology, Poland” LukaszKatlewa / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Organometallic Chemistry Lab): “(benzene)chromium-tricarbonyl-from-xtal-1987-3D-balls” Ben Mills / Public domain (cropped)
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