2024 Dalton early career Prize: Sir Edward Frankland Prize Winner
Dr Andrew Jupp, University of Birmingham
Awarded for advancing the understanding of the interaction of main-group frustrated Lewis pairs with light.
There is an urgent need to find more sustainable alternatives for catalysis to support the chemical industry of the future. Dr Andrew Jupp’s group has discovered a new method for assessing the efficiency of sustainable catalysts based on abundant elements like phosphorus, nitrogen and boron.
Catalysts are compounds that are widely used in industry to make reactions more efficient; they can make reactions go faster, occur at lower temperatures (which can significantly lower the cost of the process), or reduce the amount of unwanted side products. A lot of catalysts used in industry are based on precious metals, such as platinum, palladium, and rhodium, which are expensive and environmentally damaging. Companies have to mine deeper into the earth to obtain poorer quality ores. As a stark example, 1 oz (about 28 g) of pure platinum requires the mining of 10–40 tons of raw ore at depths of a mile below the Earth’s surface.
Frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs) use low-cost and earth-abundant elements and have shown an impressive range of abilities in academic laboratories but are not as efficient as their precious metal counterparts. Andy and his team are investigating how the two parts of the FLP catalyst interact in solution. They have discovered that when a larger amount of the two parts are closer together it leads to faster reactivity. The team continues to explore ways to optimise the interaction for creating more efficient, sustainable catalysts and, ultimately, a greener chemical industry.
| Year | Name | Institution | Citation |
| 2023 | Dr Sebastian Pike MRSC | University of Warwick | Awarded for studies on the synthesis and photochemistry of metal-oxo cluster molecules and for their use as precursors to functional materials. |
| 2022 | Dr Ruth Webster MRSC | University of Bath | Awarded for outstanding research including mechanistic elucidation of iron-catalysed, atom-efficient transformations of main group elements. |
| 2021 | Dr Jennifer Garden | University of Edinburgh | Awarded for contributions to the advancements in homo- and hetero-metallic catalysis for sustainable polymerisation chemistry. |
| 2019 | Dr Alison Parkin | University of York | Awarded for advancing the understanding of the molecular basis of oxygen tolerance in hydrogenases, relevant to their medical significance. |
| 2017 |
Professor Aidan McDonald | Trinity College Dublin | Awarded for discoveries made towards understanding the reactivity properties of high-valent late transitional metal oxidants, and towards the functionalisation of 2D nanomaterials through simple coordination chemistry techniques. |
| 2015 | Dr Scott Dalgarno | Heriot-Watt University | Awarded for his work in supramolecular coordination chemistry, in particular the synthesis and properties of d-block calixarene compounds with applications in molecular nanomagnetism |
| 2013 | Dr Richard Layfield | University of Manchester | Awarded for his contributions to organometallic chemistry, and in particular, his pioneering work on magnetic studies of organo-lanthanide complexes. |
| 2011 | Dr Stephen Liddle | University of Nottingham | Awarded for his contributions to f-element chemistry. |
| 2009 | Euan Brechin | University of Edinburgh | Awarded for his work on the design, synthesis and properties of metal coordination complexes that enhances our understanding of d-block molecular nanomagnets. |
| 2008/09 | Polly Arnold | University of Edinburgh |
Awarded for her development of new chemistry of the f-elements, especially with carbene ligands. |
| 2006/07 |
Dr Robin B Bedford | University of Bristol | Awarded for his extensive contributions to the understanding of mechanistic chemistry relevant to homogeneous catalysis involving, particularly, C-C bond-forming reactions and C-H bond activation. |
| 2004/05 |
Dr Mike J Hannon | University of Warwick | Awarded for his significant and original contributions to coordination and supramolecular chemistry, including the synthesis of chiral complexes that bond selectively to the major groove of DNA and induce intramolecular coiling. |
| 2002/03 |
Dr M W George | University of Nottingham | |
| 2000/01 |
M D Ward | ||
| 1998/99 |
P Mountford | ||
| 1996/97 | D M O'Hare | ||
| 1994/95 | D W Bruce | ||
| 1992/93 | V C Gibson | ||
| 1990/91 | J D Woollins | ||
| 1988/89 | F G N Cloke | ||
| 1986/87 | M J Winter | ||
| 1984/85 | D J Cole-Hamilton |
Re-thinking recognition: Science prizes for the modern world
This report is the result of an independent review of our recognition programmes. Our aim in commissioning this review was to ensure that our recognition portfolio continues to deliver the maximum impact for chemical scientists, chemistry and society.