Regular biography
Guillaume De Bo is Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Manchester. He graduated from the University of Louvain with an MSc in 2004 and a PhD in 2009. He began his independent career in 2016 under a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. His research focuses on controlling molecular reactivity under tension for applications in synthetic chemistry, materials, and biology. His work explores mechanophores embedded in polymeric backbones to harness mechanical energy for chemical transformations. De Bo has received several awards, including the Macro Group UK Young Research Medal 2021 and the Bob Hay Lectureship 2021. He was awarded an ERC Consolidator grant in 2022.
Scholar-generated biography
Guillaume De Bo is a Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Manchester, specializing in polymer mechanochemistry, supramolecular chemistry, and molecular machines. His research explores the synthesis and reactivity of complex molecular systems, including artificial small-molecule machines and rotaxane-based systems. De Bo's work focuses on understanding how mechanical forces influence chemical reactivity, particularly in the context of mechanophores and mechanical bonds. His studies also involve the design of switchable organocatalysts and the development of mechanically linked block copolymers. His research has led to significant advances in sequence-specific synthesis and the controlled release of small molecules through mechanical activation.