@CalumPatel

University of Oxford Chemistry PhD Candidate - @GouverneurGroup - he/him

 Oxford, England
Joined October 2011
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Published in Science, we report a way to prepare fluorochemicals directly from fluorspar without HF. 2 years ago we thought this was impossible. Made a reality thanks to our incredible team @Oxchemmike @BrowneGroup @GroupAldridge @Fluo_Rok @bobbypaton and lots of ball milling!
Gouverneur Group@GouverneurGroup20 Jul 2023
We are thrilled to share a new HF-free technology that converts fluorspar to fluorochemicals. Enormous congratulations to the amazing team of chemists who made this recurring dream a reality! science.org/doi/10.1126/scie… @CalumPatel @ScienceMagazine @OxfordChemistry @Fluo_Rok
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Nitrate reduction at 25 °C? A little iron is all it takes! 🪄 The use of cheap iron(III) nitrate (30€ per kg!) enables the in-situ generation of aryldiazonium salts which can be engaged in sulfonylation & fluorination reactions! Out now in @J_A_C_S 🔓 pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jac…
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🚨RADICAL RETHINK: STEREORETENTIVE CROSS COUPLING UNLOCKED🚨 Today in @ChemRxiv (chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv…) the first method for stereoretentive radical cross-coupling is disclosed. No fancy ligands or redox needed—just a Ni-diazene twist. 120 years after Gomberg, a new chapter begins. Quick summary: Since Gomberg discovered free radicals over 120 years ago and Kochi pioneered radical cross-coupling in the 1970s, this field has surged with interest for linking C(sp3) fragments. Unlike traditional polar methods (e.g., Suzuki), radical cross-coupling excels with saturated systems, offering mild conditions and chemoselectivity to build complex molecules from common fragments. Until now, enantiospecific radical cross-coupling was deemed impossible due to rapid racemization, but today that changes with readily available sulfonylhydrazides and a simple Ni-catalyst. This stereoretentive approach, enabled by a unique Ni-diazene transition state and driven by loss of N2, skips chiral ligands and redox steps, opening new possibilities for synthesis.
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Enantioconvergent nucleophilic substitution via synergistic phase-transfer catalysis bit.ly/4hAbjus
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Interested to learn more about furans! check out our newest @J_A_C_S @1999Nils pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jac…

Bro̷nsted Acid-Catalyzed Reduction of Furans

Abstract. Bioderived furans play a pivotal role in advancing defossilized chemical pathways. The complete reduction of furans currently relies on impractic

pubs.acs.org
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Delighted to share our latest research on a simple coupling reaction of two strained diradicaloids, just published in @Nature. Congrats to @TenaArismel, Christina, @HuilingShao, and Andrew, plus our amazing collaborator @Houk1000! PDF: rdcu.be/d9Chn @UCLA @uclachem
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Thrilled to share our newest work on the enantioconvergent synthesis of alkyl fluorides with KF, made possible by a synergistic combination of chiral urea and onium salt catalysts. Out today in @NatureCatalysis doi.org/10.1038/s41929-024-0… Congrats to @Claire_doo and all of the team!

Enantioconvergent nucleophilic substitution via synergistic phase-transfer catalysis

Nature Catalysis - The catalytic enantioconvergent nucleophilic fluorination of alkyl halides using inexpensive alkali metal fluorides is a persistent challenge. Now this has been achieved by...

nature.com
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Delighted to see my PhD research published today in @NatureCatalysis! Here we disclose the latest work in our hydrogen bonding research programme, synthesising alkyl fluorides using KF under synergistic phase transfer catalysis. Thanks to all involved who made this possible 🎉
Gouverneur Group@GouverneurGroup13 Feb 2025
Thrilled to share our newest work on the enantioconvergent synthesis of alkyl fluorides with KF, made possible by a synergistic combination of chiral urea and onium salt catalysts. Out today in @NatureCatalysis doi.org/10.1038/s41929-024-0… Congrats to @Claire_doo and all of the team!

Enantioconvergent nucleophilic substitution via synergistic phase-transfer catalysis

Nature Catalysis - The catalytic enantioconvergent nucleophilic fluorination of alkyl halides using inexpensive alkali metal fluorides is a persistent challenge. Now this has been achieved by...

nature.com
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In a new @Nature study, Prof. Ryan Shenvi (@Shenvi_Lab) demonstrated how computational tools and predictive modeling could synthesize 25 picrotoxin—complex plant molecules that could inform drug discovery for brain diseases. More: ow.ly/JkNw50UCRbE
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What an Incredible Start to 2025! I am overjoyed to share that our research has been published in Science. As the sole corresponding author, this recognition feels profoundly rewarding and almost surreal. science.org/doi/10.1126/scie…

Sulfenylnitrene-mediated nitrogen-atom insertion for late-stage skeletal editing of N-heterocycles

Given the prevalence of nitrogen-containing heterocycles in commercial drugs, selectively incorporating a single nitrogen atom is a promising scaffold hopping approach to enhance chemical diversity...

science.org
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A hexavalent nickel complex! Reductive addition of three Be-Be bonds at Ni(0) produces Ni(BeCp)6. @GroupAldridge pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jac…

A Crystalline NiX6 Complex

Abstract. High-valent nickel species are implicated as intermediates in industrially relevant chemical transformations and in the catalytic cycles of metal

pubs.acs.org
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Enormous congratulations to @CalumPatel for passing his DPhil viva this afternoon! Thanks to @crimmingroup and Jon for examining! 🥂🧪🎉
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I was deeply honoured to present my PhD research at the Festkolloquium commemorating the birthday of Prof. Konrad Seppelt at the Freie Universität Berlin. I thank CRC 1349 “Fluorine-Specific Interactions” and Solvay Fluor GmbH for their generous award.
Sebastian Riedel@RiedelLab12 Nov 2024
Congratulations to Stephanie Meyer @steph_meyer16 (@uni_muenster, now @BASF) and Calum Patel (@UniofOxford) for winning the Berlin Young Talent Award in Fluorine Chemistry @fluor_crc1349 sponsored by Solvay Fluor. We had an excellent symposium last Fr. in honour of Prof. Seppelt.
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Delighted to share our latest work in @Nature on the use of oxalic acid to activate Fluorspar in water at low temperature in a Lewis acid-enabled process. Enormous thanks to Immo, Anirban and @CalumPatel, and Gabriele Pupo and Andrew Schwarz (@Fluo_Rok) nature.com/articles/s41586-0…

Fluorspar to fluorochemicals upon low-temperature activation in water

Nature - Fluorochemicals are obtained directly from fluorspar activated in water at low temperature, without the requirement to manufacture hydrogen fluoride, a toxic and hazardous gas that is...

nature.com
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Cal Patel retweeted
Yulab@YulabJin8 Nov 2024
Amazing collaboration with Stoltz group @Caltech and Davies group @EmoryUniversity! Our part was to achieve tetra-CH hydroxylation via weak coordination at very late stage of complex total synthesis: science.org/doi/10.1126/scie…

Total synthesis of (−)-cylindrocyclophane A facilitated by C−H functionalization

(−)-Cylindrocyclophane A is a 22-membered C2-symmetric [7.7]paracyclophane that bears bis-resorcinol functionality and six stereocenters. We report a synthetic strategy for (−)-cylindrocyclophane A...

science.org
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Thrilled to share our new study of anti-Bredt olefins in @ScienceMagazine. Congrats to the authors for this nicely timed study, 100 yrs after “Bredt’s Rule” came to be. Read it here: science.org/doi/10.1126/scie… @ucla @uclachem @houk1000
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Check out our latest work on the radiosynthesis of 18F-difluoromethyl(ene) motifs online now in Org Lett @JOC_OL! Congrats to the team! ☢️ pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs…

18F‑Difluoromethyl(ene) Motifs via Oxidative Fluorodecarboxylation with [18F]Fluoride

Abstract. Herein, we report that α-fluorocarboxylic acids undergo manganese-mediated oxidative 18F-fluorodecarboxylation with [18F]­fluoride affording biol

pubs.acs.org
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Now online & open access: Article by Shun Suginome, Kurumi Murota, Akira Yamamoto, Hisao Yoshida & Yoshiaki Nishibayashi Mechanochemical nitrogen fixation catalysed by molybdenum complexes nature.com/articles/s44160-0…

Mechanochemical nitrogen fixation catalysed by molybdenum complexes

Nature Synthesis - The use of large amounts of solvents is an obstacle to the practical application of nitrogen fixation using transition metal complexes. Here catalytic ammonia synthesis is...

nature.com
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We can't wait to hear @OxfordChemistry DPhil @CalumPatel speak at our Autumn Chemistry Conference (26th Sept, 16:00-18:00 BST) about his research in the @GouverneurGroup that led to a breakthrough in fluorine chemistry. Want a sneak preview? Check out: youtube.com/watch?v=9kgPmXti…
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A pair of robust and inexpensive catalysts can help recycle mixtures of polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP), two of the most common and intractable types of plastic waste. cen.acs.org/environment/recy… .

Promising plastics recycling method relies on simple catalysts

Waste polyethylene and polypropylene can be turned into useful propene and isobutene

cen.acs.org
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Excited about our latest publication on A solid noncovalent organic double-helix framework catalyzes asymmetric [6 + 4] cycloaddition @ScienceMagazine @Tianyu_Zheng_ @maxplanckpress science.org/doi/10.1126/scie…

A solid noncovalent organic double-helix framework catalyzes asymmetric [6 + 4] cycloaddition

Whereas [4 + 2] cycloadditions are among the most powerful tools in the chemist’s synthetic arsenal, controlling reactivity and selectivity of [6 + 4] cycloadditions has proven to be extremely...

science.org
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