Postgraduate research opportunities Tuned Iridium Catalysts to Deliver an Array of Synthetic Efficiency and Selectivity

The general interests of the Kerr laboratories cover a broad range of metal-mediated synthetic organic chemistry and, in particular, in the development of new preparative techniques, the creation of asymmetric processes, and the use of these emerging methods in total synthesis programmes.

The available project will specifically expand upon Kerr’s iridium-based catalysts for application in a portfolio of important transformations in organic synthesis and of direct relevance to the pharmaceutical industry. More specifically, Kerr has been heavily involved in the development of new iridium-catalysed methods for C-H activation, including applications in hydrogen isotope exchange, hydrogenation, and C-C, C-O, and C-N bond formation, areas which are now primed to be appreciably extended.

The successful applicant will join an extremely motivated and industrious research team, and will receive elevated levels of training in the areas of preparative chemistry, organometallic-based synthesis, reaction mechanism, computational methods, and the associated analytical/spectroscopic requirements.