Dr Gabriele Pupo

Since his Master studies, Gabriele’s research interest has focused on catalysis and organic synthesis in general. His Ph.D. studies have involved the development of novel activation modes for organocatalysis using Brønsted acids while his research at Oxford was centered on novel ways to incorporate fluorine in molecules in a safe and efficient way. His research have led him to co-found FluoRok, a start-up company that aims at leading the fluorochemical sector towards greener, safer and more cost-effective chemical manufacturing.

Gabriele completed his degree in Chemistry (Summa cum Laude) at the Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy in 2012. He then moved to the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung, Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany for his doctoral studies on asymmetric Brønsted acid catalysis, under the supervision of Nobel Laureate Benjamin List. In 2017, he moved to the Chemistry Research Laboratory at the University of Oxford, first as a postdoctoral research associate in the group of Véronique Gouverneur then as a EU-funded Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow.

From 2018-2021, he was a Junior Research Fellow at Corpus Christi College and since 2019, he has been a Stipendiary Lecturer in Organic Chemistry at Merton College, Oxford. In 2022, he co-founded FluoRok with Prof. Veronique Gouverneur, a University of Oxford spin-out whose aim is to revolutionise the way fluorochemicals are manufactured. A passionate advocate for the sustainable future of chemistry, he is currently the CEO of FluoRok.

1. C. Patel, E. André-Joyaux, J. A. Leitch, X. Martínez de Irujo-Labalde, F. Ibba, J. Struijs, M. A. Ellwanger, R. Paton, D. L. Browne, G. Pupo, S. Aldridge, M. A. Hayward*, V. Gouverneur* "Fluorochemicals from fluorspar via a phosphate-enabled mechanochemical process that bypasses HF", Science 2023, 381, 302-306
2. G. Pupo*, V. Gouverneur* "Hydrogen Bonding Phase-Transfer Catalysis with Alkali Metal Fluorides and Beyond", J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 5200-5213.
3. G. Pupo, A Vicini, D. Ascough, F. Ibba, K. E. Christensen, A. Thomson, J. M. Brown, R. Paton, V. Gouverneur, “Hydrogen Bonding Phase-Transfer Catalysis with Potassium Fluoride: Enantioselective Synthesis of β-Fluoroamines”, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 2878–2883.
4. G. Pupo, F. Ibba, D. Ascough, A. Vicini, P. Ricci, K. E. Christensen, L. Pfifer, J. R. Morphy, J. M. Brown, R. Paton, V. Gouverneur*, “Asymmetric nucleophilic fluorination under hydrogen bonding phase-transfer catalysis”, Science 2018, 360, 638–642.
5. G. Pupo, R. Properzi, B. List* “Asymmetric Catalysis with CO₂: The Direct α-Allylation of Ketones”, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 6099–6102; featured on the inside back cover (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, 55, 6107).