About
Dr. Tom Hooper is a Lecturer at the School of Chemistry, University College Dublin, appointed in 2020 as an Ad Astra Fellow. He received his PhD (2010) and MSc from the University of Bristol, and a Postgraduate Certificate in University Teaching & Learning from UCD (2019). His research focuses on main group chemistry, particularly phosphorus and aluminium reagents in sustainable catalysis.
- Education
- PhD, University of Bristol (2010)
- MSc, University of Bristol
- Postgraduate Certificate, University College Dublin (2019)
Tom’s research bridges molecular main group chemistry and catalytic applications. His group investigates the use of abundant, non-metallic elements as sustainable alternatives to transition metal catalysts, with projects on C-H and C-O bond functionalization, phosphenium cations, and metal-metal interactions in catalytic cycles. Key themes include mechanistic analysis, ligand design, and sustainable methodologies.
His 15 most recent publications (2016–2021) span topics like palladium-catalyzed alumination, dehydrocoupling of boranes, and magnetic refrigeration. Keywords include Inorganic Chemistry, Catalysis, and Materials Science, with subfields such as C-O bond functionalization, spin topology, and hydrogen storage. These studies often employ DFT calculations and kinetic isotope experiments.
Scientific Awards
- Ad Astra Fellow, University College Dublin (2019–2026)
Grants and Teaching: He leads the FluoroCapture project (2023–2024) and has secured a grant for Macrocyclic Phosphorus Cations as Catalysts (2020–2021). He coordinates modules like Chemistry for Engineers and Applied Introductory Chemistry, and supervises PhD and BSc theses.
