We conduct research at the intersection of organic and inorganic chemistry, with our primary aim being to discover, develop, and understand metal-catalysed reactions for organic synthesis. We use the tools of physical organic chemistry, organic and organometallic synthesis, and spectroscopy to achieve our aims. Ongoing projects include:

• Understanding structure/reactivity relationships in nickel catalysed reactions
• Quantifying reactivity and site-selectivity in metal catalysed C-H functionalisation reactions
• The design of new ligands and quantification of their properties

We are grateful to have received generous funding from organisations including the EPSRC, the Carnegie Trust, GSK, AstraZeneca, Syngenta, the Leverhulme Trust, and the Royal Society.

Our work has been recognised with prizes including a 2020 Thieme Chemistry Journals Award and the 2021 Royal Society of Chemistry Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms ECR Award.

Further details can be found on our website at http://djnelson.group.

In addition to research and teaching, I organise colloquia for research students and staff in the Catalysis & Synthesis section.

I completed a term on the Faculty of Science Resources and Planning Committee (2018-2023). I have been a Faculty Education Liason Advisor since March 2020, a role that involves me representing the university at various recruitment events. As of May 2023, I am the Strathclyde UCU branch health and safety representative on the Statutory Advisory Committee on Safety and Occupational Health.

I have been a member of the Editorial Board of Communications Chemistry since April 2020. This is an open access journal that is published by Springer Nature, and covers all areas of chemistry.

I joined the Royal Society of Chemistry Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms Discussion Group comittee in summer 2023, and have been secretary of this group since late 2023.

Many important reactions in industry today are catalysed by transition metal complexes. Our research focusses on the design, discovery, understanding and optimisation of selective and economical processes, with a specific focus on developing reactions to the point that they can be deployed on scale in industry.

Key Phrases: Catalysis; Organometallic Chemistry; Physical Organic Chemistry; Organic Synthesis

Funding: We are grateful to have received funding and support from the following organisations: Johnson-Matthey/Alfa Aesar; Fluorochem; The Carnegie Trust; The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); Syngenta; AstraZeneca; GlaxoSmithKline; The Leverhulme Trust; The Royal Society; Eli Lilly.

Detailed Summary: A detailed summary can be found on our group website (http://djnelson.group).

Training: Students within the research group gain training and experience in the synthesis, isolation, characterisation, and study of interesting organic and organometallic compounds. We use a variety of tools and techniques to achieve our aims, including: Schlenk techniques; inert atmosphere gloveboxes; NMR, UV/visible, and IR spectroscopy; GC and GC/mass spectrometry; cyclic voltammetry.

Areas

• Catalysis
• Cross-coupling
• C-H activation
• N-Heterocyclic carbenes
• Organometallic chemistry
• Physical organic chemistry

Techniques

• Organometallic and organic synthesis
• Handling of air- and moisture-sensitive compounds
• NMR and UV/visible spectroscopies
• Reaction kinetics
• Reaction simulation using numerical integration software
• Density functional theory (DFT)

Catalysis provides many of the tools that various chemical industries use to prepare important molecules and materials. The rate and scale at which we can prepare such chemicals, as well as their cost, are often dictated by the availability of suitable chemical processes by which they can be made.

We are therefore focussing on two key areas that have been established in academia, but that still face challenges to their use on an industrial scale. These are (i) C-H activation and (ii) nickel-catalysed cross coupling. By understanding what influences activity and selectivity in these processes, we aim to develop the next generation of catalysts and reactions, towards their deployment in industry.

Qualifications and Experience

• Reader, University of Strathclyde, 2023 - Present
• Senior Lecturer, University of Strathclyde, 2018 - 2023
• Chancellor's Fellow and Lecturer, University of Strathclyde, 2014 - 2018
• Research Fellow (with Prof. S. P. Nolan FRSE), University of St Andrews, 2012 - 2014
• PhD in Pure and Applied Chemistry (with Prof. J. M. Percy), University of Strathclyde, 2008 - 2012
• MChem in Chemistry with Industrial Experience, University of Edinburgh, 2003 - 2008

Memberships

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry
• Member of the Americal Chemical Society
• Member of the Society of Chemical Industry
• Member of the Society of Chemical Industry Young Chemists' Panel
• Fellow of the Higher Education Academy

Current Teaching

CH212 Physical Chemistry 1 - Kinetics [2020/21 - 2022/23 and 2024/25 - Present] This lecture course addresses the fundamentals of the kinetics of chemical reactions and covers the core and underpinning topics that allow students to develop a full understanding of what influences the rates of chemical reactions and how (and why) we study this.

CH450/8 Distance Learning Course - Reaction Mechanisms. [2014/15 - 2022/23 and 2024/25 - Present] This distance learning course is completed by MChem students on placement. The aims of the course are to: develop knowledge and understanding of reaction mechanisms, particularly in organic chemistry; develop skills in analysing reaction mechanisms; extend powers of analysis and deduction, and relate these to the choice of appropriate experiments in the study of reaction mechanisms; and show how knowledge of reaction mechanisms is related to synthetic chemistry and the understanding of processes both in the laboratory or production plant and in living systems.

CH508/9 Advanced and Modern Methods in Organic Synthesis. [2017/18 - Present] This course covers a range of state-of-the-art techniques in organic synthesis, including: palladium, copper, iridium, ruthenium, and gold-catalysis, organocatalysis, and asymmetric synthesis. Several lectures are devoted to the study of physical organic chemistry in the understanding of these reactions.

Previous Teaching Activities

CH107 Chemistry: Principles and Practice 2 - Organic Chemistry. [2016/17, 2017/18] This first year undergraduate course provides students with the understanding of key reactions, concepts, and principles that are relevant to the study and use of organic chemistry. These include: nucleophiles, electrophiles, and radicals; alkenes and their reactions; epoxides and their reactions; carbonyl compounds and their oxidation, reduction, and reactions.

CH208 Fundamental Organic Chemistry - Aromatic Chemistry. [2016/17] This second year course provides students with the understanding of aromatic molecules and their reactivity, including: identifying aromatic molecules; electrophilic and nucleophilic aromatic substitution; and the generation and reactions of benzyne.

CH538: Molecular Catalysis. [2019/20] This course covers various topics in homogeneous catalysis, including the use of organometallic complexes, enzymes, and main group complexes. Students learn about applications, underlying mechanisms, techniques for interrogating reactions, and techniques for catalyst separation and recycling.

CH721: Well defined complexes of gold: synthesis, properties and homogeneous catalysis. [2014/15, 2016/17, 2018/19] This course for MPhil and PhD students covers a range of organic and organometallic chemistry, with a special focus on catalysis, including: the history of gold catalysis; the properties of gold including favoured oxidation states, ligands and geometries; fundamental reactivity of organogold complexes; the synthesis of modern gold complexes as homogeneous catalysts (Au(I) and Au(III)); synthesis of related gold complexes, such as hydroxides, peroxides, di-, tri- and poly-gold complexes; and C-H activation/functionalisation and cross-coupling with gold.

Prizes

Winner of the 'Digital Innovator' category at the Strath Union Teaching Excellence Awards 2022.