The ADAMox project, “Analysis of Dynamics and Amorphization of Metal Oxides (MOx),” addresses a critical need in catalysis, particularly for the shift from traditional fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy sources, aligning with the European Green Deal’s sustainability goals. MOx catalysts play a central role in these chemical transformations, but their structural complexity poses […]
New late-stage functionalization reagents for the construction of chiral centers to impact drug discovery
Late-stage functionalization (LSF) is a rapidly expanding field in molecular synthesis with the major goal of quickly accessing to derivatives that would be too challenging or time-consuming to prepare otherwise; hence, this strategy has a great potential to impact drug discovery processes by speeding up the hit-to-lead optimization. At present, more than two-thirds of prescription […]
Development of Advanced Thermometric Nanomotors
Temperature is a central concept in thermodynamics and is one of the most crucial parameters to be described in scientific and technological achievements. Due to the high importance of measuring this property, thermometers are accounted for ≈ 80% of the sensor market and could reach 6.86 billion USD in 2023 according to a study done […]
Migratory 1,n-fluoroalkylcarboxylation of non-activated alkenes via dual photoredox/ Nickel catalysis
Catalytic chain-walking reactions have recently emerged as a powerful tool for efficiently introducing functionalities at remote sp3 C–H sites within alkyl side chains. Nevertheless, substantial challenges remain when forging multiple C–C bonds while maintaining a predictable site-selectivity profile in chain-walking scenarios, particularly by controlling both regioselectivity and enantioselectivity. This project will explore the ability to […]
Fuel forming electrocatalysis: Devising multifunctional covalent organic frameworks with vinylenic linkage for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction and water oxidation
Global energy demands and increase in the utilization of fossil fuels have contributed towards rising CO2 concentration in the atmosphere, giving rise to grave environmental concerns such as the green house effect. In order to achieve decarbonization of the energy system, the European Green Deal considers the development of innovative technologies, as the one contemplated […]
Photoelectrochemical Oxidation of Methane using Single Atom Catalysts
Natural gas (primarily methane, CH4) is still a major energy source that is often simply flared into the atmosphere without being harnessed. As a cumulative result, unprecedented CH4 spikes have been reported lately in Earth’s atmosphere. Combined with the already existing Global warming concerns posed by other greenhouse gases such as CO2, CO, NOx, etc., […]
Design of Bioinspired Chromophore-Protein Complexes for Color Converting Layers of Organic Light Emitting Diodes
In deBioLED, I seek to design bioinspired chromophore-protein complexes of high red emission efficiency to fabricate the next generation of eco-friendly color converting layers (CCLs) of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). Despite OLEDs already consume 70% less energy than typical lighting sources, their production still depends on a high input of energy and use toxic components […]
Photocatalyzed enantiodivergent synthesis of homoallylic and carboxylic acids featuring heterodiaryl quaternary carbon stereocenters
The synthesis of heterodiaryl-based quaternary stereocenters is a very challenging task in organic synthesis, especially in the creation of highly functional scaffolds. Tetrahedral, congested carbons centers bearing two different aryl moieties have great importance for structure−activity relationship (SAR) studies in pharmaceutical discovery programs. Their presence in biological active natural products makes them fundamental for the […]
The development of bio-supported homogeneous organocatalysts with improved recycling potential through sequential de- and re-polymerization and their use in CO2 valorization catalysis
The use of homogeneous catalysis is currently limited as they lack the ability to be easily recycled, and thermal deactivation of the catalyst cannot be always avoided. These features present important hurdles for the application of homogeneous catalysts in commercial processes and represents an open challenging. Designing ways to bridge the advantages properties of homogeneous […]
Development of new sp3 C–H carboxylation strategies via interrupted Ni-catalyzed chain-walking catalysis
While originally designed to control the topology of polymers, catalytic chain-walking reactions have recently offered new vistas for forging carbon-carbon bonds at previously unfunctionalized C(sp3)–H sites by formally translocating the metal catalyst throughout the alkyl side-chain of a substrate. In particular, nickel catalysis has positioned at the forefront of this emerging field due to its […]
Gold(I)-Catalyzed Polymerization of Acetylene Gas
GASGOLD aims for the development of efficient Au(I)-catalysed methodologies for the challenging intermolecular synthesis of important monomers, oligomers and polymers of acetylene gas. Au(I)-catalysts allow for the formation of cyclopropyl Au(I)-carbenes after reaction with an alkyne and alkene. The carbenes are reactive towards rearrangement to form 1,3- dienes, which are important building blocks for a […]
Electrochemical stereoselective radical cascades for accessing natural-like compounds
Identifying successful lead drug candidates is a significant and current challenge to society. The ELECTRO-ASYMMETRIC project seeks to provide some solutions through assisting the development of more effective drug discovery technologies. Specifically, we aim to use electricity-driven organocatalytic cascade processes for the stereocontrolled synthesis of chiral lactones and polyfunctionalized heterocycles, which are common motifs in […]
Advanced simulations in electrocatalysis for efficient production of C3+ by carbon dioxide reduction
The climate change has raised concerns about closing the carbon cycle by converting CO2 and renewable electricity to chemically stored energy in the form of fuels and commodity chemicals. Among these, long-chain hydrocarbons and alcohols are more attractive because of their high energy density and value. Recently, reconstructed oxide-derived Cu (OD-Cu) catalysts have shown the […]
Dual Co/Photoredox Catalysis for the Synthesis of Fluorine-Containing Skipped Dienes Featuring a Quaternary Carbon Stereocenter
Fluorine-containing functional groups have become of crucial importance for medicinal and agrochemical applications. The incorporation of these moieties into molecular structures allows for significant opportunities to take advantage of bioisosterism as well as to fine-tune the chemical or pharmacological properties of a desired molecule. The objective of the FUSE project is to pioneer a novel […]
Photoexcitation for New-to-Nature Enzymatic Reactions
Enzymatic catalysis plays a centrally important role for the preparation of chiral molecules and in the transition towards a more sustainable chemistry. In spite of their potential, natural enzymes use only a relatively small section of ‘reaction space’. This implies that only a limited number of stereocontrolled reaction classes, which are characterized by a similar […]
Solar Fuel Generation through Photoelectrochemical Reduction of CO2 Using Copper Porphyrins in Molecularly Designed Reaction Environments
Solar fuels can be synthesized by integrating electrocatalysts with semiconductors, using sunlight to drive endergonic chemical reactions. Employing molecular electrocatalysts allows the tunability, selectivity, and three-dimensional architectures associated with molecular components to be combined with the solar energy capture and conversion properties of solid-state semiconducting materials. However, there is a lack of understanding of how […]
Electrophilic aromatic substitution of azines catalysed by Frustrated Lewis pairs
Synthetic chemistry faces numerous reaction barriers to what is actually possible compared to what is theoretically possible. Catalysts are critically important to overcoming many of these barriers by reducing the energy required for a reaction to proceed, often enabling a substitution or functionalisation of simple feedstocks that can lead to high value products. Aromatic substitution, […]
Carbyne transfer catalysis for C(sp2)–C(sp2) bond (radio)fluorinations
This proposal aims to develop a new C–F bond-forming strategy that exploits C–C double bonds as functional groups by means of carbyne transfer catalysis. We want to develop a general and functional group tolerant process that can use petrochemical feedstocks, fine chemicals as well as complex molecules containing alkene functionalities. The new reaction introduce asymmetry […]