Our research interests are inter-disciplinary and centre around the areas of organic synthesis, supramolecular chemistry and organometallic/asymmetric catalysis (especially with gold and palladium). Areas of interest include:

1. Gold Catalysis
In the past few years, gold has emerged as a powerful catalyst for the electrophilic activation of alkynes, arenes, allenes and even alkenes. Gold catalysis represents a new frontier in catalysis with scope for further discoveries and development, particularly in the field of asymmetric gold catalysis. We are interested in the development of novel gold catalysed reactions with the aim of expanding the current toolkit of synthetic techniques. We are currently developing novel gold-catalysed reactions with cyclopropenes and allenes.

For representative publications, see: Chem. Commun.,2011, 47, 1333 - 1335. Abstract; Org. Biomol. Chem., 2010, 8, 4090 - 4095. Abstract; Org. Lett.2010, 12, 484-487. Abstract; Chem. Commun., 2008, 6405-6407. Abstract

2. Chiral rotaxanes
One of the most interesting and yet least exploited features of rotaxanes is chirality - a rotaxane consisting of an asymmetric rotor and asymmetric axis can have cyclochirality, even if both the rotor and axis are themselves achiral. To date, there are no efficient methods for the catalytic enantioselective synthesis of cyclochiral rotaxanes. We are interested in tackling this challenging problem using tools from the field of asymmetric catalysis.

3. N-Heterocyclic Carbene (NHC) - Type Ligands for Catalysis
The chemistry of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and in particular their application as ligands, has developed rapidly since the synthesis of the first isolable species in 1991. NHC ligands are active in various transition metal catalysed reactions as well as in organocatalytic reactions. This area holds great promise in terms of the design of novel and modular ligands with different stereochemical topography.

For representative publication, see: Chem. Commun., 2011, 47, 328 - 330. Abstract and review: Aust. J. Chem. 2011, 64, 1118–1132. Abstract