Dr. Benjamin Laroche

Dr. Benjamin Laroche
Maître de Conférences - Associate Professor
Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la ville de Paris - ESPCI Paris
Department C3M: "Molecular, Macromolecular and Material Chemistry"
Team CMC: "Molecular Chemistry and Catalysis"
10 rue Vauquelin 75005 Paris
benjamin.laroche@espci.fr

Research topics

Key words: multistep synthesis, flow chemistry, heterogeneous catalysis, multicomponent reactions, photocatalysis, asymmetric catalysis, atom-economy, sustainability.

Our researches revolve around machine-assisted organic synthesis using continuous-flow chemistry as key synthetic tool. Our overarching goal is to develop efficient, reliable, safe, and environmentally benign chemical reactions for applications in therapeutic and material sciences. For this, we harness the robustness of heterogeneous catalysts in combination with atom-economical transformations to reach complex and bioactive molecules in a continuous manner. Specifically, we develop new catalysts for telescoped multistep sequences including multicomponent and photochemical transformations.

Scientific journey

– Since September 2020 : Maître de conférence – Associate Professor at ESPCI-Paris (UMR 7167, C3M), team CMC ‘Molecular Chemistry and Catalysis’.

– 2019–2020: Postdoctoral research associate at Institut Català d’Investigació Quimica (ICIQ, Spain) under the supervision of Pr. Paolo Melchiorre.

– 2016–2019: Postdoctoral research associate at the University of Tokyo (Japan) under the supervision of Pr. Shu Kobayashi.

– 2013–2016: PhD student at Sorbonne University – National Museum of Natural History under the supervision of Dr. Bastien Nay.

– 2009–2013: Bachelor and Master student at CPE Lyon, including a Master thesis at the University of Durham (UK) under the supervision of Pr. Andrew Whiting.

– 2007–2009: 1st and 2nd years of undergraduate studies in chemistry and physics at University of Nancy Henri Poincaré.

Awards and distinctions

– 2017: YNSECT PhD award of the French Chemical Society (Ile-de-France section)

Selected publications

9. “Diversity-oriented synthesis of 17-spirosteroids”. B. Laroche, T. Bouvarel, M. Louis-Sylvestre, B. Nay, Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 880–887.
8. “Reworking organic synthesis for the modern age: synthetic strategies based on continuous-flow addition and condensation reactions with heterogeneous catalysts”. W.-J. Yoo, H. Ishitani, Y. Saito, B. Laroche, S. Kobayashi, J. Org. Chem. 2020, 85, 5132–5145.
7. “Chapter 1: Recent perspectives in catalysis under continuous flow”. H. Ishitani, Y. Saito, B. Laroche, X. Rao, S. Kobayashi, in Flow Chemistry - Integrated Approaches for Practical Applications, Ed. S. V. Luis, E. Garcia-Verdugo, Royal Society of Chemistry, Green Chemistry Series, Vol. 63 (2019), pp. 1–49.
6. “Basic anion-exchange resin catalyzed aldol condensation of aromatic ketones with aldehydes in continuous-flow”. B. Laroche, Y. Saito, H. Ishitani, S. Kobayashi, Org. Process Res. Dev. 2019, 23, 961–967.
5. “Direct reductive amination of carbonyl compounds with H2 using heterogeneous catalysts in continuous-flow as an alternative to N-alkylation with alkyl halides”. B. Laroche, H. Ishitani, S. Kobayashi, Adv. Synth. Catal. 2018, 360, 4699–4704.
4. “Approaches to styrenyl building blocks for the synthesis of natural polyenyl pigment xanthomonadin”. K. S. Madden, B. Laroche, S. David, A. Batsanov, D. Thompson, J. Knowles, A. Whiting, Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2018, 5312–5322.
3. “Harnessing the potential diversity of resinic diterpenes through sensitized photooxygenation coupled to Kornblum-DeLaMare and Hock reactions”. B. Laroche, B. Nay, Org. Chem. Front. 2017, 4, 2412–2416.
2. “Bioinspired adventures in the total synthesis of mixed polyketide-nonribosomal peptide natural products”. B. Nay, M. Zaghouani, B. Laroche, S. Prévost, X.-W. Li, A. Ear, N. Riache, in Strategies and Tactics in Organic Synthesis, Ed. M. Harmata, Academic Press-Elsevier, Vol. 13 (2017), pp. 55–80.
1. “Ring closing enyne metathesis of terminal alkynes with propargylic hindrance”. B. Laroche, M. Detraz, A. Blond, L. Dubost, P. Mailliet, B. Nay, J. Org. Chem. 2015, 80, 5359–5363.