che
group
The investigations conducted by the Che Group have resulted in significant innovations. These include the development of novel excited-state atom transfer catalysis, selective hydrocarbon functionalization reactions, practical phosphorescent and metal-assisted TADF emitters, unique functional supramolecular metal assemblies, and anti-cancer metal medicines to combat metastatic malignancies.
Professor Che pioneered the isolation and understanding of highly reactive metal-oxygen/nitrogen/carbon complexes, transforming them from fleeting intermediates into powerful, predictable tools for chemistry and creating practical methods for synthesising valuable molecules.
Leading research in this field since 1985
Our current work
With our continuing effort to study metal-ligand multiple bonds and their applications in transition metal catalysis for practical organic transformations, various metal catalysts have been developed for oxygen atom and carbene or nitrene group transfer/insertion reactions. Through judicious choice of ligands and metal ions, we are able to synthesize and isolate diverse classes of metal-oxygen, -nitrogen and -carbon multiply bonded complexes including highly reactive ones for understanding the mechanisms of metal-catalyzed atom and group transfer to organic substrates at the molecular level via spectroscopic measurements and/or by DFT calculations. Useful structural information has been obtained for the rational design of more robust metal catalysts with higher selectivity.
Image ref: Zhou, D., To, P., Ming Tong, G. S., Cheng, G., Du, L., Phillips, D. L., & Che, M. (2020). Tetradentate Gold(III) Complexes as Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence (TADF) Emitters: Microwave-Assisted Synthesis and High-Performance OLEDs with Long Operational Lifetime. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 59(16), 6375-6382. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201914661
Our group’s longstanding expertise in designing proprietary phosphorescent platinum(II) complexes has yielded a robust palette of highly luminescent materials—spanning from blue to red, white, and near-infrared emissions—enabling advanced full-color displays and lighting, with key patents licensed to industry leaders such as Samsung and Merck.
Che’s PNAS work merges coordination chemistry with multi‑omics to identify anticancer targets, showing gold(III) porphyrin and d⁸ pincer complexes as potent anti‑metastatic scaffolds. He also pioneered phosphorescent platinum(II) and gold(III) complexes for detecting DNA, RNA, and mismatched nucleic acids.
The AI-powered portable cancer detection device invented by Prof. Che and his team at LSCCB was awarded the Gold Medal with Jury Congratulations at the International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva.
Learn more: HKU News
Prof. Che has been named a 2025 Highly Ranked Scholar by ScholarGPS.
Learn more: scholargps
Prof. Che received the 2025 Yee Fong Lectureship (義芳化學講座) award at National Taiwan University
The anti-cancer drug Pt1b developed by Prof. Che and his team in LSCCB has passed the IND application review in Mainland China and the clinical trials has now begun.
Prof. Che received a new plaque of the State Key Laboratory of Synthetic Chemistry at the presentation ceremony hosted by the Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, Mr. Yin Hejun.
Learn more: hkumedia
Prof. Che has been prominently featured in a special topic by HKTKWW
Prof. Che has been listed among the best scientists in the field of Chemistry and ranked 71st globally (5th in China) in the 2nd edition of Research.com with a D-index of 150.
Learn more: research.com/u/chi-ming-che & HKU News
Prof. Che has received funding from the Research, Academic, and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+) for Innovative molecular emitters for practical OLEDs and wearable devices.
Learn more: hkumedia
Image: Yee Fong Lectureship (義芳化學講座) at National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, China, November 25, 2025
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