Golden Master Award 2023

Considerans

Milo Cornelissen, Universiteit van Amsterdam / Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Incorporation of Directional and Quinone-Functionalized Macrocycles in Covalently Synthesized Rotaxanes

The Golden Master Award Jury has nominated the thesis of Milo Cornelissen, entitled “Incorporation of Directional and Quinone-Functionalized Macrocycles in Covalently Synthesized Rotaxanes” as theWinner of the Golden Master Award 2023. 

Milo Cornelissen has written a truly engaging master thesis on his research on rotaxanes, conducted under the supervision of Jan van Maarseveen and Francesco Mutti.

Rotaxanes are mechanically interlocked molecules composed of a linear or cyclic molecule that is threaded through a macrocycle or ring molecule. The latter (the wheel) has a cavity or opening that allows the linear or cyclic molecule (the thread) to pass through it, thus creating an interlocked structure. The synthesis of rotaxanes is challenging, and is usually achieved by a covalent templating approach. Usually, the thread is bookended by two bulky groups, functioning as stoppers. This prevents the thread and wheel from dissociating, thus maintaining the aforementioned interlocked structure. In his master research project, Milo has worked on two different, but strongly related subjects: the enantioselective synthesis of mechanically chiral rotaxanes, and the synthesis of rotaxanes containing quinone units in the ring. The outcomes he achieved have established the groundwork for not just one, but two doctoral research endeavours!

Milo graduated cum laude for both his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees. The research he contributed to has resulted in three papers in distinguished journals in the field, of which Milo is the first author.

The jury was highly impressed with the level of the research. In particular, the retro-synthetic analyses were lauded by several jury members. It truly was a pleasure to read the thesis; one of the jury members rightfully pointed out that “it reads like an adventure novel”. The delightfully complex molecular structures are mouth-watering for any organic chemist and by using several schematic representations, the structures were surprisingly easy to interpret. Overall, this work demonstrates an exceptional level of academic excellence.

The combination of fascinating research and the outstandingly engaging manner in which the report was written, has convinced the jury to nominate the thesis of Milo Cornelissen as the Winner of the Golden Master Award 2023.

The other two prizes were awarded to:

Silvana Caipa - Delft University of Technology
Hematite Micro-swimmers with enhanced photoactivity

Johanna van Gent González - University of Groningen
Photocatalytic Dye Degradation over Modified Ferroelectric Barium Titanate

The jury consisted of KNCV members in the broad range of chemistry: