The C&FC laboratory offers research in modern organic synthesis, organometallic chemistry (vacuum/inert atmosphere line, Schlenck techniques) and high pressure catalytic reactions, being the first and only to have a high pressure carbonylation system in Portugal.
The scientific interests of C&FC Lab comprise three main areas:
- Medicinal Chemistry;
- Materials Chemistry;
- Coordination Chemistry/Catalysis
Each area strongly intertwined with each other, with sustainable synthesis being at the interface between them.
The research activity of the C&FC Lab has the following major goals:
- Synthesis of tetrapyrrolic macrocycles (porphyrin and phthalocyanine derivatives) for application in catalysis (oxidation, carboxylation) and in medicinal chemistry, namely in photodynamic therapy (PDT), photodynamic inactivation (PDI) and medical imaging, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron-emission tomography (PET).
- Synthesis of hybrid materials (based on mesoporous silica, carbon nanotubes and magnetic nanoparticles) for different purposes, namely catalysis, environmental remediation and light-driven applications (photocatalysis, non-linear optics and excited state studies).
- Development of tervalent phosphorus compounds, namely binaphthyl-based phosphite and phosphine ligands, and their transition-metal complexes for application in catalysis: carbonylation, hydroformylation and Tandem reactions, aiming at the synthesis of value added products with potential bioactivity.
