Meet #sodium’s new #partnership with #silicon to promote regioselective #arene (multi)silylations @angewandtechemie.bsky.social An exciting synthetic and #mechanistic study byDavid Sanchez-Roa and Sophia Belrhomari @unibe.ch with Max Garcia Melchor and his team #openacess

doi.org/10.1002/anie...

Really enjoyed the @rsc.org Main Group Interest Group Annual Meeting @edinburgh-uni.bsky.social engrossing series of lectures on diverse topics. Congrats to organisers. Pleased to get a photo with the @evaheviagroup.bsky.social conference stars. Well done also to Tom, Anna, and Paul of Mulvey group

Comparisons and Contrasts in a Complete Set of Alkali Metal Cumyl Structures Alkali-metal benzyl complexes derived from toluene are known to vary their metal–ligand coordination mode as a function of the alkali-metal, with the metal transitioning from a typical σ bond to the anionic CH2 for lithium toward an interaction with the delocalized pi system of the aromatic ring as the metal gets larger and softer. Here, by switching to cumene, we report the charge-localizing effect of replacing the hydrogen atoms at the formally carbanionic carbon CH2 with electron-donating methyl groups in C(Me)2. NMR spectroscopic studies reveal competitive ring-metalation occurs, at the meta and para positions, alongside α-metalation on using an alkyl lithium base, with the meta- and α-isomers crystallographically characterized as a solvated dimer and monomer, respectively. Using Lochmann-Schlosser type base pairs to access the heavier alkali-metal complexes unveils only α-metalation. The presence of the methyl groups limits the variation in metal–ligand bonding, their electron-donating properties forcing the delocalization of the negative charge into the ring resulting in M-Ph interactions and sp2 hybridization at the formally deprotonated α-carbon regardless of the metal used. Considerable variation in aggregation state is observed with monomeric (Na), polymeric (K, Cs) and tetrameric (Rb) motifs identified in the solid-state.

Continuing our campaign to study all the alkali metals in organometallic chemistry. Why don't you try this in your own studies? Our friends in Bern @evaheviagroup.bsky.social are!

Comparisons and Contrasts in a Complete Set of Alkali Metal Cumyl Structures | Inorg Chem pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Tree of the Day. Hopefully soon to be European Tree of the Year. Check out Tree of the Year website to vote for Glasgow’s Argyle St ash

Thrilled to co-author this perspective article with Eva and David. Think we are only at the tip of the iceberg on what is possible with these heavier alkali metals.

Fifty years of Chemistry - coming up at Burlington House on 10 March celebrating 50 years of the RSC Historical Group. Speakers include @rsc.org Past Presidents Gill Reid and Lesley Yellowlees and textbook legends Peter Atkins and Jonathan Clayden.
#chemsky #chemchat
www.rsc.org/events/detai...

Congrats Paul! And thanks to SCGC for supporting our science. Looking forward to all the cool stuff we’ll be able to do in the lab!

Well defined Cs organophosphides rocketing into prominence in alkene isomerisation catalysis with Astronauts Felix and Tom!

Vielen Dank Connie, Alex and Jeroen for making my visit to @unibonn.bsky.social truly memorable @bismutolab.bsky.social @cluchem.bsky.social #JeroenDickschat

We're Hiring! If you are interested in a PDRA post with the Mehta group, please apply! @ox.ac.uk @oxfordchemistry.bsky.social

my.corehr.com/pls/uoxrecru...

A brief and exciting excursion into palladium chemistry with @remglasgow.bsky.social and @isra-group.bsky.social now online in @rsc.org Chem. Commun.!

pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...

You can say that again. What a productive year for the Hevia group publication factory! Look forward to seeing the 2026 advances. Happy New Year when it comes! Let’s hope for peace in the World too

Congratulations Josef! I always view these Royal Society University Research Fellowships as the Crown Jewels of Fellowships. Looking forward to reading your next adventures and advances in future publications.

Congratulations to Herbert W Roesky, University of Goettingen, who turned 90 yesterday. One of the greatest inorganic chemists of this or any generation.
For more info about Herbert see "Lives in Chemistry" on Linkedin

Great to see a @unistrathclyde.bsky.social alumnus completing a PhD at @unibe.ch the last of a long line of the transitioning Glaswegians. Congratulations David for his remarkable publication record and well done to you too Eva.

Excited to share the work of #AndrewPlatten @unibe.ch in collaboration with #LauraTorrenteMurciano @ceb.cam.ac.uk
introducing the use of #SodiumAmides in #DES in #continuousFlow for ester amidations #SustainableSynthesis #OpenAccess
@pubs.acs.org

pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1...

A truly inspiring talk by Steve Thomas @spthomasgroup.bsky.social on advancing #mechanistic understanding for Fe and B catalysis @unibe.ch

Thrilled to share the work of @clarencetankl.bsky.social and @antorna.bsky.social on elevating #sodium mediated deprotonative #borylation to #catalytic regimes with an insightful #mechanistic study in collaboration with Max Garcia Melchor @pubs.acs.org @unibe.ch

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

TIRE CHANGE: First Mg(I) complex with a Cp* ligand enables facile ligand exchange. Reaction with RONa gives (BDI)Mg-MgOR and Cp*Na. This paves the way for syntheses of many new asymmetric Mg(I) complexes. @angew_chem onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....

www.bath.ac.uk/jobs/Vacancy...
My colleague David Liptrot has an opening for a postdoctoral researcher in his group! If you like synthetic, air sensitive chemistry 🧪 dynamic and friendly atmosphere this might be for you! check out the advert 👇

It was so much fun and special to share stage at @gdch.de #ScienceForumChemistry2025 with Helma Wennemers @anatmilo.bsky.social @cornellab.bsky.social #KIT #Karlsruhe Thanks @stefaniedehnen.bsky.social for a great organisation and congratulations to all the #GDChAwardWinners

Best UK universities for chemistry – league table The science of matter – the composition of substances, their properties and reactions

Congratulations to the colleagues in the chemistry dept @unistrathclyde.bsky.social for their hard work and dedication and for creating the people-oriented environment in which we work daily that makes such accolades possible
@rsc.org

www.theguardian.com/education/ng...

Much appreciated Eva

Many thanks Sjoerd

Congratulations to all the team on getting this paper. Michelle Crabbe and @isra-group.bsky.social for their important contributions with special thanks to @felixkraemer.bsky.social for his boundless energy in completing this study.
More to follow soon

Heavyweight Champion: Caesium Diorganophosphides Outperform Lighter Congeners in the Catalytic Hydrophosphination of Alkenes and Alkynes The heavier, the better! We report that the caesium congener is the most active and versatile catalyst amongst a full group set of well-defined crown ether supported alkali metal diphenyl phosphides ...

The promised watch this space is now online with VIP status
Heavyweight Champion: Caesium Diorganophosphides Outperform Lighter Congeners in Catalytic Hydrophosphination Angewandte Chemie International Edition - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...

Enjoyed reading this nice paper. Congratulations to Ajay and Laurent and their team. I might have called this novel compound an aluminium aluminate. Our group had fun with compounds such as potassium potassiates etc. a few years ago

Where the Mulvey alkali metal group all started, the Heilbron lab, with its first PhD student, the amazing Phil Andrews, Prof and HoD chemistry dept @monashuniversity@bsky.social Australia

That’s excellent news Talia, well done, but not surprising after I seen your poster at EuCOMC 2025!

Challenging chemistry, so well done the Bath team