Sinead KeaveneyView profile
Lecturer
Sinead Keaveney is currently a Lecturer in Chemistry at the University of Wollongong (2021-present) and holds an Honorary Lecturer position at Macquarie University's School of Natural Sciences. Previously, she was a Macquarie University Research Fellow (MQRF) from 2018 to 2021, a Postdoctoral Researcher at RWTH Aachen University in Germany (2016-2018) working with Prof. Franziska Schoenebeck, and completed her PhD at UNSW Australia (2013-2016) under the supervision of A/Prof. Jason Harper. Dr. Keaveney's educational background includes a PhD from UNSW Australia (2013-2016), followed by postdoctoral research at RWTH Aachen University in Germany (2016-2018). Dr. Keaveney's research focuses on applied organometallic catalysis to develop new synthetic methods. She is particularly interested in rationally designing new catalysts to facilitate challenging chemical transformations and developing long-lived, recyclable catalysts for industrial viability. Her work employs detailed mechanistic studies including kinetic analyses, computational studies, and X-ray based techniques to guide catalyst design and understand chemical reactivity. Her research spans sustainable chemistry, metal catalysis, ionic liquids, regioselectivity, and hydrosilylation, with applications in pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and materials chemistry industries. Analysis of Dr. Keaveney's recent publications reveals a strong focus on denitrogenative reactions of heterocyclic compounds, particularly 1,2,3-thiadiazoles and triazoles. Her work demonstrates expertise in transition metal catalysis (especially rhodium, nickel, and palladium), with significant contributions to understanding reaction mechanisms, regioselectivity, and catalyst design. Recent publications also show expanding interests in photochemistry, medicinal chemistry applications of sulfonyl fluorides, and analytical methods for monitoring chemical reactions. Dr. Keaveney has been involved in several research projects including 'Developing sustainable synthetic methodology using nickel and iron catalysis' (2020-2021), 'Rapid Isolation System' (2020), and 'Examining the properties and structure of Rh and Ir based hybrid catalysts to gain fundamental insight into their effects on catalysis' (2019). At both the University of Wollongong and Macquarie University, Dr. Keaveney supervises undergraduate and HDR student projects focused on developing new catalytic transformations that are efficient, sustainable, and practical. Students working with her gain experience in organic and organometallic synthesis, reaction development, analytical techniques (NMR, GC-MS, UV-Vis, IR), mechanistic and kinetic analyses, and potentially computational modeling and synchrotron-based techniques. Dr. Keaveney's research is supported by access to advanced facilities including the Australian Synchrotron, where she utilizes X-ray Scattering and Absorption measurements for her mechanistic studies.
