The Muldoon Lab

School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

Queen's University Belfast
  • Home
  • Group / Lab Pics
  • Mark Muldoon
  • Publications
  • Research
  • Teaching and Admin
You are here: Home / Research

Research

Catalysis: Selective Oxidation Reactions

We are particularly interested in developing methods for carrying out selective oxidation reactions. Oxidation reactions are often key for the synthesis of many important chemicals (pharmaceuticals, agrichemicals, fragrances and materials), however many of the established methods for carrying out oxidation reactions result in large amounts of waste and rely on undesirable reagents. Such methods are impractical as well as unsustainable; therefore there is a dire need to develop effective catalysts that utilise molecular oxygen (O2) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as the terminal oxidant. We are interested the following areas:

  • discovering new homogeneous (molecular) catalysts
  • mechanistic studies to enable catalyst design
  • developing new catalytic methodologies for organic synthesis
  • addressing the problems of catalyst decomposition to improve catalyst performance (i.e. obtain high catalyst turnover numbers)

 Multiphase Catalysis

The efficient separation and extended use of molecular catalysts is often crucial if new sustainable and scalable processes are to be implemented on an industrial scale. Furthermore, in the case of aerobic systems, gas-liquid mass transfer is often key in determining catalyst performance.

In order to develop catalysts which can be readily separated and re-used we are currently exploring a number of different avenues. We study the use of multiphase liquid systems such as ionic liquids, CO2 expanded solvents and supercritical CO2. We are also interested in exploiting solid materials (e.g. silica, zeolites and polymers) in order to support organometallic catalysts.

Continuous Flow Systems

The production of advanced intermediates for fine chemicals and pharmaceuticals has primarily relied on traditional batch processing, but continuous flow systems can enable more efficient and safer processes to be developed. We are part of a collaborative research project examining “Active Pharmaceutical Production in Flow” (APPFlow), see www.app-flow.co.uk for more details.

Copyright © 2023 · Mark Muldoon

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT