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.
