Office: CAP 3.51 E-mail: M.Munoz-Herranz@uea.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 1603-597157 School position: Lecturer in Chemistry

PhD Studentships available: New Transition Metal Catalysed Reaction of Allenes

Dr. Muñoz was born in 1976 in Madrid (Spain), where she studied Chemistry at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid until June 1999, when she finished her Master of Science in Chemistry (Organic Chemistry). In July 2001 she obtained her Diploma Thesis at the same University under the supervision of Prof. Antonio M. Echavarren (“Desarrollo de Nuevos Métodos de Formación de Enlace C-C Catalizados por Pt, Ru y Pd”. Apto), and then carried out her Ph.D. in Chemistry in the same group (October 2004. “Competing Pathways in the Cyclization of 1,6-Enynes Catalyzed by Transition Metals: Selectivity Studies”). On 22nd October 2004, she passed her viva (Summa Cum Laude) and, one week later undertook her new life as a postdoc in Bristol, in the group of Prof. Lloyd-Jones. During her time in Bristol she held the positions of Research Assistant (November 2004) working on “Synthesis of New 3,3'-Binol Derived Substituted Phosphoramidites” for the Ligand Bank (Eurpean European Community's Sixth Framework Programme); Post-Doctoral Fellow from the Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (August 2005), working in “Mechanistic and Kinetics Aspects of the Palladium-Catalyzed Cyclization of Dienes and Related Reactions”; and finally Research Associate (August 2007), working on “Development of New Protocols for Alkene Difuntionalisation” financed by the (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), UK). In May 2009, Dr. Muñoz returned to Madrid, Spain with a prestigious Ramón y Cajal Award to work at the Insituto de Química Orgánica General (IQOG-CSIC), where she started her research into the discovery of new platinum-catalysed reactions of allenes. She joined the UEA as Lecturer in Chemistry from September 2011.

Research interests

Dr Muñoz is an organic chemist with particular interest in the discovery and development of new organic and organometallic reactions, the use of physical-organic-inorganic chemistry knowledge to study the mechanisms involved, in particular using isotopic labelling, kinetics, simulations and NMR techniques, and the application of the knowledge acquire to the synthesis and biosynthesis of Natural Products with potential biological activity.   Her current research involves the study of the stereochemistry of addition in the TfOH-catalysed lactonisation of allyl malonates, mechanistic studies on the platinum-catalysed dihydroalkoxylation and other reaction of allenes, and the discovery and development of novel transition metal-catalysed reactions of allenes.

A PhD position funded by the University of East Anglia is available from next year.

Applications from prospective postgraduate students for PhD or Postdoc positions and fellowships are welcome.

Selected publications

Platinum-Catalysed Bisindolylation of Allenes: A complementary alternative to the Gold-catalysis.
Maria Paz Muñoz,* Maria C. de la Torre and Miguel Angel Sierra
Chem. Eur. J., 2012, 18 (15), 4499-4504.
DOI: 10.1002/chem.201103337

Transition Metal-Catalysed Intermolecular Reaction of Allenes With Oxygen Nucleophiles: A Perspective.
Muñoz, M. P.*
Org. Biomol. Chem., 2012, 10, 3584-3594.
DOI: 10.1039/C2OB07128B

New Platinum-catalysed dihydroalkoxylation of allenes
Muñoz, M. P.*; de la Torre M. C.; Sierra, M. A.
Adv. Synth. Catal., 2010, 352 (13), 2189-2194.
DOI: 10.1002/adsc.201000342

Triflic Acid Mediated Dealkylative Lactonisation via Observable Alkyloxonium Intermediates
Muñoz, M. P.*; Lloyd-Jones, G. C.
Eur J. Org. Chem., 2009, 516-524.
DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.200800970