Silvia Cabrera

FeCl ₃ -catalyzed generation and interception of oxocarbenium ion by different silane derivatives, and other π-nucleophiles for the synthesis of multi-substituted cyclic ethers in batch and flow conditions.

Visible-light substrate–Ir( iii ) cooperation activates oxygen, enabling diastereoselective dearomative polyoxygenation of 8-hydroxyquinolines without external photocatalysts under mild conditions.

The development of novel covalent organic polymers (COPs) incorporating nitrone linkages and their chemical transformation into new materials through tandem reactions is reported. Using 1,3,5‐tris(4‐hydroxyaminophenyl)triazine and terephthaldehyde as building blocks, a nitrone‐linked COP was synthesized under mild conditions. The inherent versatility of the nitrone moiety enabled the formation of oxime O‐ether‐linked COPs through simple thermal treatment of the same monomers. Additionally, making use of the well‐known 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition reaction with nitrones, a multicomponent transformation with phenylvinylsulfone led to the formation of a new isoxazolidine‐linked polymer. Structural and chemical characterizations using FT‐IR, ¹³ C and ¹⁵ N CP‐MAS NMR, XPS, and scanning electron microsopy (SEM) confirmed the successful formation of the polymeric materials and the direct nitrone conversion into different groups and moieties. These results demonstrate the versatility of nitrone linkages for creating diverse COPs and expand the toolbox for designing functional organic materials.

[2 + 2] photocycloaddition is exploited as a tool for the synthesis of organic extended materials. As a result, polymeric semiconductors achieved are able to carry out the oxidative photocoupling of benzyl amines with versatile performance.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) composites are proposed as solutions to the mechanical instability of pure MOF materials. Here, we present a new compositional series of recently discovered MOF-crystalline inorganic glass composites. In this case, formed by the combination of a photocatalytic titanium MOF (MIL-125-NH₂) and a phosphate-based glass (20%Na₂O-10%Na₂SO₄-70%P₂O₅). This new family of composites has been synthesized and characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray total scattering. Through analysis of the pair distribution function extracted from X-ray total scattering data, the atom-atom interactions at the MOF-glass interface are described. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide isotherms demonstrate good surface area values despite the pelletization and mixing of the MOF with a dense inorganic glass. The catalytic activity of these materials was investigated in the photooxidation of amines to imines, showing the retention of the photocatalytic effectiveness of the parent pristine MOF.

Localised and bulk analyses of ball-milled amorphous MIL-125-NH2 revealed prolonged milling resulted in the loss of long-range structural order, partial retention of the local bonding, and the successive introduction of defects through metal-linker bond breakage.

Metal-organic framework (MOF) composites are proposed as solutions to the mechanical instability of pure MOF materials. Here we present a new compositional series of the recently discovered MOF-crystalline inorganic glass composites. In this case, formed by the combination of a photocatalytic titanium MOF (MIL-125-NH2) and a phosphate-based glass (20%Na2O-10%Na2SO4-70%P2O5). This new family of composites has been synthesised and characterised using powder X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray total scattering. Through the analysis of the pair distribution function extracted from X-ray total scattering data, the atom-atom interactions at the MOF-glass interface are described. Nitrogen and carbon dioxide isotherms demonstrate good surface area values, despite the pelletisation and mixing of the MOF with a dense inorganic glass. The catalytic activity of these materials was investigated in the photooxidation of amines to imines, showing retention of the photocatalytic effectiveness of the parent pristine MOF.

A sustainable method efficiently synthesizes β-keto spirolactones using green solvents under electrochemical conditions.

Iridium complexes have been demonstrated to be highly active catalysts for a wide variety of transformations. Their unique photophysical and photochemical properties render them as one of the most established photocatalysts. Moreover, iridium complexes are widely acknowledged for their efficiency in transfer hydrogenation reactions. However, the development of iridium complexes able to promote both traditional organometallic catalysis and photocatalysis is scarce. Thus, the design of iridium-based catalysts is still an active area of research. In this context, we targeted the synthesis of a family of Ir-Cp* systems to explore their (photo)catalytic applications. Here, we describe the synthesis, structural characterization, and photophysical properties of iridium complexes of formula [IrCp*Cl(N^O)]. These complexes have been applied with a double catalytic function, in transfer hydrogenation for carbonyl reduction and in different photomediated transformations.