Professor John Murphy
Research Professor
Pure and Applied Chemistry
Personal statement
I am an organic chemist and my research group revels in exploring chemical reactivity in synthesis and in biology. We have a particular interest in electron transfer reactions and in radical chemistry, but are generally interested in mechanisms of organic reactions.
Read more about my research group at https://murphygroupresearch.weebly.com/the-group.html
I was born in Dublin and educated at Trinity College, Dublin (BA) and the University of Cambridge (PhD). I obtained my DSc in 2002.
After my PhD, I held Fellowships at the University of Alberta and the University of Oxford. I moved to the University of Nottingham as Lecturer, and was promoted to Reader there.
I moved to my current position as Merck-Pauson Professor of Chemistry at the University of Strathclyde in 1995.
I was visiting Professor at a number of institutions:
- Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 2017
- Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, 2004
- NAIST, Japan, 2001
- l’Université d’Aix Marseille 1996
I also was Visiting Fellow to the Australian National University in 1995 and 2007. I held a Royal Society Leverhulme Senior Research Fellowship in 2001.
I was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (National Academy of Scotland) in 2001.
I was Director of the Glasgow Centre for Physical Organic Chemistry (GCPOC) 2008-2013.
From August 2006 - August 2008, I was Director of WestCHEM, the newly formed integrated Research School in Chemistry for the West of Scotland.
From 2013-2016, I was Head of Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry
Prizes:
2018 Alexander von Humboldt Research Prize (Alexander von Humboldt Foundation)
2016 C W Rees Award for Heterocyclic chemistry (Royal Society of Chemistry)
2012 Bader Award (Royal Society of Chemistry)
Prize And Awards
- von Humboldt Research Prize
- Recipient
- 1/10/2018
- Charles Rees Award 2016
- Recipient
- 9/5/2016
- Bader Award 2012
- Recipient
- 2012
Qualifications
Charles Rees Award 2016 Winner
The citation reads: "Awarded for his highly innovative studies on the preparation, properties and applications of very reactive heterocycles, ranging from extreme electrophiles to super-reducing agents".
Publications
- Monitoring radical intermediates in photoactivated palladium-catalysed coupling of aryl halides to arenes by an aryl radical assay
- Tyerman Seb, MacKay Donald G, Clark Kenneth F, Kennedy Alan R, Robertson Craig M, Evans Laura, Edkins Robert M, Murphy John A
- ACS Catalysis Vol 15, pp. 917-927 (2025)
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.4c06913
- Reductive activation of arenes by potassium metal with potassium salts
- Nocera Giuseppe, Robb Iain, Clark Kenneth F, McGuire Thomas M, Evans Laura, Chiba Shunsuke, Murphy John A
- Organic Chemistry Frontiers Vol 11, pp. 5099-5106 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1039/d4qo01027b
- Development of a horizontal dynamically mixed flow reactor for laboratory scale-up of photochemical Wohl–Ziegler bromination
- Pratley Cassie, Shaalan Youssef, Boulton Lee, Jamieson Craig, Murphy John A, Edwards Lee J
- Organic Process Research and Development Vol 28, pp. 1725-1733 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.oprd.3c00348
- Direct, selective α-aryloxyalkyl radical cyanation and allylation of aryl alkyl ethers
- Robb Iain, Murphy John A
- Organic Letters Vol 26, pp. 2218-2222 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.orglett.4c00392
- Organometallic Bridge Diversification of Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentanes
- Anderson Joseph M, Poole Darren L, Cook Gemma C, Murphy John A, Measom Nicholas D
- Chemistry - A European Journal Vol 30 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202304070
- Ground state generation and cyclization of aminium radicals in the formation of tetrahydroquinolines
- Pratley Cassie, Fenner Sabine, Murphy John A
- Organic Letters Vol 26, pp. 1287-1292 (2024)
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.orglett.4c00179
Research Interests
His chemical interests are in mechanistic and synthetic chemistry, in reactive intermediates and in the development of new reactions.
Professional Activities
- ESOR (European Symposium on Organic Reactivity)
- Contributor
- 3/9/2017
- Royal Society International Exchanges Panel 2017-2019 (Event)
- Member
- 2017
- Evolution of Organic Electron Donors
- Invited speaker
- 12/2016
- Transition metal-free coupling reactions
- Invited speaker
- 25/10/2016
- Transition metal-free coupling reactions
- Invited speaker
- 7/4/2016
- 12th International Symposium on Organic Free Radicals (ISOFR)
- Keynote/plenary speaker
- 2016
Projects
- DTP 2224 University of Strathclyde | Schmid, Simon Paul
- Jamieson, Craig (Principal Investigator) Murphy, John (Co-investigator) Schmid, Simon Paul (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2024 - 01-Jan-2028
- Industrial CASE Account - University of Strathclyde 2021 | Tyerman, Sebastian
- Murphy, John (Principal Investigator) Tuttle, Tell (Co-investigator) Tyerman, Sebastian (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2021 - 01-Jan-2025
- Industrial Case Account - University of Strathclyde 2019 / S190404-107
- Murphy, John (Principal Investigator)
- 01-Jan-2019 - 30-Jan-2024
- Industrial Case Account - University of Strathclyde 2019 | McMahon, Connor
- Murphy, John (Principal Investigator) Tuttle, Tell (Co-investigator) McMahon, Connor (Research Co-investigator)
- 01-Jan-2019 - 28-Jan-2024
- Accelerated Discovery and Development of New Medicines: Prosperity Partnership for a Healthier Nation
- Murphy, John (Co-investigator) Bell, Jonathan (Researcher)
- EP/S035990/1 £5,495, 023 from EPSRC.Prof William J. Kerr is the Strathclyde PI.
Next generation catalysis and synthesis: Chemists seeking to discover new medicines need new reactions that will allow them to make and investigate structures that are currently difficult, or even impossible, to make. A key objective of this proposal will be to develop new reagents, catalysts, and reactions to facilitate the more efficient preparation of drug-like molecules to accelerate drug discovery. Similarly, we will develop new ways of performing some of the most common chemical transformations in the synthesis of medicines whilst avoiding the use of carcinogenic reagents - 01-Jan-2019 - 31-Jan-2023
- Accelerated Discovery and Development of New Medicines: Prosperity Partnership for a Healthier Nation
- Kerr, William (Principal Investigator) Brown, Cameron (Co-investigator) Florence, Alastair (Co-investigator) Jamieson, Craig (Co-investigator) Johnston, Blair (Co-investigator) Murphy, John (Co-investigator) Palmer, David (Co-investigator) Tomkinson, Nick (Co-investigator)
- Accelerated Discovery and Development of New Medicines: Prosperity Partnership for a Healthier Nation
- 01-Jan-2019 - 30-Jan-2024
Contact
Professor
John
Murphy
Research Professor
Pure and Applied Chemistry
Email: john.murphy@strath.ac.uk
Tel: 548 2389