Dr Andrew Jupp

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.

Biography

Dr Andrew Jupp obtained his Master’s (2008–-2012) and PhD (2012–2016) from the University of Oxford under the supervision of Professor Jose Goicoechea. 

He worked on phosphorus analogues of the cyanate anion and urea, for which he was awarded the Reaxys PhD Prize in Hong Kong in 2015. He subsequently carried out a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship with Professor Doug Stephan at the University of Toronto (2016–2018), working on the synthesis and reactivity of main-group Lewis acids and bases, and the functionalisation of carbon dioxide. 

In 2018, Andy won a VENI grant as part of the NWO Talent Programme to work under the mentorship of Professor Chris Slootweg at the University of Amsterdam, where he worked on the formation of main-group radicals in frustrated Lewis pair systems. 

In 2020, he launched his independent career as a Birmingham Fellow at the University of Birmingham (UK), and he started a Royal Society University Research Fellowship in January 2021. Andy’s research group explores the interactions of light with frustrated Lewis pairs (FLPs: combinations of bulky Lewis acids and bases). This has enabled the group to probe the association of the acids and bases in solution, which underpins the ability of FLPs to act as efficient sustainable catalysts. 

In other projects, they also work on the synthesis and reactivity of phosphorus-containing analogues of simple organic molecules and the activations of environmentally relevant small molecules such as carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. 

In 2023 he won the Early Career Award from the RSC Inorganic Reaction Mechanisms Group.

Q&A

Tell us about somebody who has inspired or mentored you in your career.
I have been hugely lucky in that I have benefited from many amazing mentors at every stage of my academic career, so I can't narrow it down to just one. 

My undergraduate tutor, Simon Aldridge, was the one who showed me the beauty and logic behind molecular inorganic chemistry and was the reason I pursued research in the first place. 

My PhD supervisor, Jose Goicoechea, was (and still is) a fantastic mentor who made me excited to go in the lab and make new molecules – he is also the greatest cheerleader you could wish for and ready to celebrate any success and commiserate any disappointment. 

My postdoc supervisor Doug Stephan showed me the joys of main-group catalysis and taught me how to craft research ideas into completed projects, and Chris Slootweg taught me how to use a wide range of spectroscopic techniques to really interrogate a system. 

For my independent career, both Rachel O'Reilly and Liam Cox were instrumental in supporting me to apply for fellowships that enabled me to start my group at Birmingham, and for that I will always be grateful. 

The support they gave to me and other early career researchers was fantastic, especially as I now appreciate how many other things they were juggling at the time! 

And finally, I still continue to receive mentorship here at Birmingham as my group and responsibilities grow, particularly from Anna Peacock, Paul Davies, Neil Champness and Steve Goldup.

This answer has now turned into a big list of thanks yous, but I am very grateful to everyone who has helped and mentored me so far.

One of my favourite parts of the job is paying that forward and now mentoring the people in my research group and other early career researchers to help them on their journey.

What motivates you?
In terms of bigger picture motivation, I am driven to make main-group catalysts that are as active as their precious metal counterparts and can actually be used in industry as sustainable alternatives to existing processes.

On the day-to-day level, I really enjoy solving puzzles and problems. If we are trying to make a new compound in the lab then we can brainstorm ways to target it and how to circumvent known and newly discovered problems. When a reaction inevitably goes awry, then working out what we have made instead can be a real challenge – we then obtain more puzzle pieces by running different types of spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, diffraction etc until we can piece everything together. Serendipity can give us new molecules that we had not previously considered, and trying to make the most of these opportunities from otherwise "failed" reactions is hugely rewarding.

What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in chemistry?
Chemistry can be an incredibly rewarding subject, so it is a great option! There is not a single definition for a career in chemistry, so it is good to look at all the different options. 

If you want to be actively involved in research then there are amazing opportunities in universities and in industry, but there are so many ways of being a chemist that don't involve wearing a lab coat and being in a lab. For example, computational chemistry and machine learning is only going to keep growing in importance as new methods are developed. 

Outside of actively doing hands-on research, there are lots of jobs that rely on the skills and knowledge from chemistry, such as publishing, patent law, and policy. If you have the interest in chemistry, then go for it; it will only open more doors.

Why is chemistry important?
Chemistry is fundamentally important to solving a lot of the societal problems we currently face across the globe. Technologies for tackling the climate crisis, generating clean water, or creating vaccines will all be spearheaded by chemists. I imagine most people reading this on the RSC website will already know this. But speaking of importance, chemistry definitely has an image problem. Physics has the mysterious beauty of space and biology has the wonders of the animal kingdom, but when the general public thinks of chemistry they picture a toxic barrel of chemicals or an oil spill. We need more spokespeople for the subject, particularly in mainstream media, explaining what chemistry really is and how it underpins every facet of our lives.

What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?
This prize is right up there! From a personal standpoint, it is probably getting a Royal Society University Research Fellowship as this has enabled me to have my own research group with the freedom to explore things we find most interesting. 

But, actually, I get the most satisfaction from watching (and hopefully helping) members of my group develop into excellent research chemists – celebrating their successes is a never-ending highlight in the job.

What has been a challenge for you (either personally or in your career)?
Two major challenges have emerged in recent years that have had major effects on my academic career, and they couldn't be more opposite.

I started at the University of Birmingham in July 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic had severe impacts on researchers across the world, but this was particularly keenly felt by early career researchers. 

I had to set up a laboratory at a time when building access was limited and supply lines for common chemicals and consumables (particularly personal protective equipment, PPE, such as gloves) suffered large disruptions and inevitable delays. My glovebox, which is essential for my research, took nearly 16 months from when I started to be delivered and fully installed. Even when I could go into the laboratory, my team and I were only able to use a reduced number of fumehoods so that social distancing was maintained, and we were on a rota with other research groups. 

The pandemic also resulted in a reduced ability for me to go to conferences and network with other researchers at a pivotal moment in my career, and it was doubly impactful as I was coming back to the UK after almost four years of postdoc positions abroad.

On a much happier note, I became a parent in October 2022 and I took three months of shared parental leave. Since I started back, I now work compressed hours, so I don't work on Mondays which allows me to concentrate on being a parent. Learning to juggle an academic job with childcare responsibilities is a challenge that many early career academics will face, but it should be talked about more.

Both of these challenges have been significant, and have been overcome with great support from colleagues and my fantastic research group.

What does good research culture look like/mean to you?
A good research culture is one in which everybody feels comfortable to express themselves and we have an environment where everyone can be the best they can be. I love in group meetings where everyone asks questions and joins in the discussions, whether they are an experienced postdoc or a new Master’s student.

We have just moved into the brand new Molecular Sciences Building at Birmingham, where the labs are large and collaborative.

I really enjoy that this has promoted discussions about science and best practices between groups as well as within groups, as we have so much we can learn from each other’s expertise.

What is your favourite element?
Phosphorus, without a doubt! It is a multifaceted element that is essential for all known forms of life on Earth: it is found in nucleotides in DNA and RNA, in adenosine triphosphate (ATP), phospholipid bilayers, and mammalian bones. 

At the same time, the nefarious uses of phosphorus in warfare have had tragic consequences that are well documented. It is an element that we are running out of, as we need to mine huge amounts of phosphate rock to make fertiliser to feed an ever-growing global population; at the same time, we have too much of it in our environment, which leads to eutrophication and the decimation of marine ecosystems. Better phosphorus recycling schemes are clearly required.

From a fundamental research perspective, it is an element that keeps on giving as well. In some ways, it behaves similarly to carbon; in some ways, it behaves similarly to nitrogen, but most of the time it behaves uniquely in amazing ways. When it is pyramidal, it is an indispensable ligand and Lewis base, and when you force it to go T-shaped, then you unlock new modes of small-molecule activation. And pragmatically speaking, it has a very useful NMR spectroscopy handle – what more could you want?