Reactive intermediates
We use electrochemical control to generate reactive species at low steady-state concentration and couple their formation directly to productive bond-forming reactions.
Synthetic Electrochemistry at the University of Greenwich
Electrosynthesis from discovery to scale
We combine organic electrosynthesis, electroanalysis and reactor design to make difficult reactions safer, more selective and easier to scale in batch and flow.
€7M+ securedAs principal investigator or co-investigator
30+ alumni and visiting researchersAn international network spanning academia, pharmaceutical research, process chemistry and scientific publishing
Cross-sector partnershipsCollaborations with universities, research organisations, pharmaceutical companies and instrument manufacturers
Research
Our research programme
Our research addresses three connected challenges: generating reactive intermediates under controlled conditions, understanding how electron transfer governs selectivity, and translating promising reactions into reproducible batch and flow processes.
Mechanism and selectivity
We combine voltammetry, controlled-potential experiments, spectroscopy, kinetics and computation to test how electron transfer, mass transport and reaction conditions determine selectivity.
Flow and scale-up
We translate useful transformations from discovery-scale experiments into controlled batch and flow processes, with attention to current density, electrode geometry, mixing, heat transfer and residence time.
Featured in Chemical Science
Electrochemical deoxychlorination of aliphatic alcohols
Diphenyl sulfide and electricity activate native aliphatic alcohols through reactive alkoxysulfonium intermediates, enabling their mild conversion to alkyl chlorides. The method tolerates amines, carbamates, heteroaromatic rings, sulfones and free carboxylic acids, proceeds with inversion at stereogenic alcohol centres, and translates from batch to flow.
A phosphorus-free route from native alcohols to alkyl chlorides.
Recent work
Recent publications
Nature Communications, 2026
Practical and divergent electrochemical access to thiocarbamoyl fluorides and N-trifluoromethyl amines from secondary amines
Changing reaction conditions directs secondary amines to either thiocarbamoyl fluorides or N-trifluoromethyl amines in one pot, using practical reagents. The method supports late-stage modification and includes mechanistic analysis.
Organic Letters, 2026
Electrochemical Trideuteromethylation with AcOD-d₄: A Route to CD₃-Labeled Building Blocks
Electrochemistry installs CD₃ from inexpensive AcOD-d₄, providing trideuteromethylated building blocks in batch and flow.
ACS Electrochemistry, 2026
eCyanation: A Dual Strategy for Electrochemical Cyanation of Amines Using Potassium Thiocyanate
Bench-stable potassium thiocyanate enables complementary electrochemical cyanation modes, coupling reagent activation with selective C–CN bond formation.
Facilities and capabilities
From reaction discovery to process translation
Dedicated group facilities connect electrosynthesis, electroanalysis, flow processing, purification and analytical feedback in one working environment, supporting rapid iteration from mechanistic insight and reaction discovery to batch and flow translation.
Our group
Meet the people behind the research
The group brings together researchers in organic synthesis, electroanalysis, reaction mechanism, reactor design and process translation.
Group update · 2026–27
A new academic year for the group
The group begins the academic year with new doctoral and visiting researchers, alongside the start of an MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowship and an MSCA Doctoral Network appointment.
Postdoctoral researchers
- Dr Endika Torres UrtizbereaMSCA Postdoctoral Fellow
- Elina TaskinenVisiting postdoctoral researcher
Doctoral researchers
- Runkang LiuMSCA Doctoral Network
- Finn O’MahonyTransmutation from Acids
- Jack BrennaneHydrogenation
- Nicholas KerryTransmutation from Alcohols
Visiting doctoral researcher
- Chiara CosenzaUniversity of Siena
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