Welcome to the F. Y. KWONG Research Team! Research in the KWONG Laboratory is focused on the advanced development of tailor-made catalysts and its application in cross-coupling reactions for organic synthesis. Prof. Kwong has expanded the methodologies for phosphine ligand design, and in the process built a library of such catalysts, thus providing a resource which can be used by the wider academic community and industry.
Publication: A Room-Temperature Rh-Catalyzed Kinetic Resolution Pathway for Expedient Access to P-Stereogenic Cyclic Phosphinates
Apr 2026: Congratulations to Xiaodong and Pearl on the publication of the Rh-catalyzed enantioselective ring-closing hydrofunctionalization of alkynylphosphinates that directly constructs kinetically favored, nonarene-fused P-stereogenic five-membered rings. Read more about this publication in JACS Au. (Updated: JACS Au 2026, 6, 2618–2626).
Achievement: Congratulations to Xiaotong: Outstanding Graduate TA Award!
Mar 2026: The Outstanding Graduate TA Award is given each semester to Teaching Assistants/Demonstrators that demonstrates exceptional performance and devotion to duty while acting on behalf of the department. It is a prestigious honour that serves to recognise the best of the best within our ranks. The awardees’ teaching performance, contribution to Department and character are considered during the selection process. Again, congratulations to Xiaotong.
Achievement: Congratulations to Chem Ping Pong: 1st Runner-up of "Dean's Cup - Table Tennis 2026"!
Mar 2026: Ten amazing teams composed of science teachers, students, and alumni came together for the "Dean's Cup - Table Tennis 2026" held on March 14, 2026. The team Chem Ping Pong, represented by Prof. KWONG, Prof. XIA, and two postgraduate students, attained the 1st Runner-up position in the competition. Congratulations to Chem Ping Pong on this excellent performance!.
Event: Welcome our new Visiting Scholar!
Feb 2026: Welcome our new member: Prof. Peiyuan LI (Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine)!!
Publication: Indole-Based π-Extended Monophosphine Ligands for Enhanced Palladium-Catalyzed Sonogashira Coupling
Jan 2026: Congratulations to Smarco & Chun Pong on the publication of the Pd-catalyzed Sonogashira coupling. Read more about this publication in Journal of Heterocyclic Chemistry. (Updated: J. Heterocycl. Chem. 2026, 63, 727-737).
Achievement: Congratulations to Professor Michael KWONG: World's Top 2% Scientist according to Stanford citation ranking!
Sept 2025: According to metrics compiled by Stanford University, Prof. Kwong is listed among the top 2% of the world's most highly cited scientists, reflecting the high academic standard of our research tema's excellent research performance. Again, congratulations to Prof. Kwong. Read more about this ranking: Elsevier official webpage.
Event: Welcome our new Postdoctoral Fellow!
Aug 2025: Welcome our new member: Xiaodong (HKBU)!!
Publication: Recent advances in light-driven synthesis of complex trifluoromethylated aliphatic amines and derivatives
Aug 2025: Congratulations to Xiaotong & Chi Wai on the publication of the review of light-driven synthesis of complex trifluoromethylated aliphatic amines. Read more about this publication in Chemical Communications. (Updated: Chem. Commun. 2025, 61, 14002-14021).
Event: Welcome our new PhD students!
Aug 2025: Welcome our new members: Smarco (CUHK-Awardee of HKPhD Fellowship), Chun Pong (CUHK-Awardee of HKPhD Fellowship) and Jiayi (South China University of Technology)!!
Event: Welcome our new Research Assistant!
Jul 2025: Welcome our new member: Yuhang (Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine)!!
Mar 2025: The awardees were selected by a panel of judges consisting of representatives from six universities. Junya was awarded the "Best Poster Presentation Award". Again, congratulations to Junya.
Interview: RTHK香港電台<未來‧無限>催化化學的應用場景
Dec 2024: Prof. Kwong was invited by RTHK for an interview in a program of <未來‧無限>. 香港電台節目：未來‧無限，每個星期六，節目會邀請一位科學家，介紹在其研究範疇內一個正在影響世界未來發展、我們不可不知的趨勢，以專業和視野來培養具前瞻的預測與洞察力。 Listen the full episode in RTHK.
Dec 2024: Congratulations to Weijian, Wyman & Pearl on the publication of the arylation of benzoxazoles. Read more about this publication in Organic Letters. (Updated: Org. Lett. 2024, 26, 10958-10963).
Publication: Palladium-catalyzed Buchwald-Hartwig Amination and Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-coupling Reaction of Aryl Mesylates
Dec 2024: Congratulations to Smarco, Wyman & Pearl on the publication of the discussion addendum for Pd-catalyzed Amination and Suzuki coupling of aryl sulfonates. Read more about this publication in Organic Syntheses. (Updated: Org. Synth. 2024, 101, 438-459).
Publication: Preparation of 2-(2-(Dicyclohexylphosphino)phenyl)-1-methyl-1H-indole (CM-phos)
Dec 2024: Congratulations to Jenny, Wyman & Pearl on the publication of the discussion addendum for the preparation of CM-phos series ligands. Read more about this publication in Organic Syntheses. (Updated: Org. Synth. 2024, 101, 423-437).
Oct 2024: The S.T. Yau High School Science Award (Asia) [ YHSA(Asia) ] is a research-based competition emphasising innovation, originality, creativity and persistence in research activities. It encourages students and teachers to formulate issues with quantitative precision and scientific rationales, with a view to nurturing students’ passion for scientific discovery, patience in the investigation, and rigour in deliberation. Inna and Jadyden from St. Paul’s Co-educational College joined our research team to investigate the project "Twisted Biaryl Towards Axial Chirality" and they were awarded the 2024 Honourable Mention. Again, congratulations to Inna and Jadyen. Read more about this award: S.T. Yau High School Science Award (Asia) official webpage.
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Room G56, Department of Chemistry, Ma Lin Building,
Science Centre South Block, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Email: fykwong@cuhk.edu.hk
Phone: +(852) 3943 6257 (office); +(852) 3943 1173 (laboratory)