Darren J. Dixon

Darren J. Dixon (born 11 April 1971) is a British organic chemist and Professor of Chemistry at the University of Oxford. He has worked on asymmetric catalysis and bifunctional organocatalysts, including iminophosphorane superbases, used in the enantioselective synthesis of complex molecules.[1][2]

Early life and education

Dixon was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, in 1971. He studied chemistry at St Peter's College, Oxford, obtaining a first-class BA (Hons) in 1993, and completed a DPhil in organic chemistry at Oxford under the supervision of Stephen G. Davies.[3]

Career

Following post-doctoral research with Steven V. Ley at the University of Cambridge, Dixon held academic posts at Cambridge and the University of Manchester before joining Oxford in 2008 as Professor of Chemistry and Knowles-Williams Fellow in Organic Chemistry at Wadham College.[1] From 2014 to 2022 he was Director of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Synthesis for Biology and Medicine (SBM) at Oxford, responsible for coordinating industrial collaborations and doctoral training.[4] He has served on editorial boards including Tetrahedron, Tetrahedron Letters, and the Beilstein Journal of Organic Chemistry, and sits on the Board of Directors of the Medicinal & Bioorganic Chemistry Foundation (MBCF).[5]

Research

Dixon's group designs bifunctional organocatalysts, especially iminophosphorane superbases, for enantioselective reactions and cooperative catalysis in carbon-carbon bond formation.[6] His work has established catalytic desymmetrisation at phosphorus(V), nucleophilic additions to unactivated esters and amides, and reductive transformations of tertiary amides.[7]

Awards and honours

Selected publications

  1. J. C. Golec et al. "Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of alkylidenecyclopropanes." Nature, 2025 (in press). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09485-y
  2. Y. A. Almehmadi et al. "Iridium-catalysed synthesis of C,N,N-cyclic azomethine imines enables entry to unexplored nitrogen-rich 3D chemical space." Nature Synthesis, 2024, 3, 1168–1175. DOI: 10.1038/s44160-024-00574-w
  3. M. Formica et al. "Second-generation catalytic enantioselective nucleophilic desymmetrisation at phosphorus(V)." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2024, 63, e202400673. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202400673
  4. G. Su et al. "Catalytic enantioselective intramolecular oxa-Michael reaction to α,β-unsaturated esters and amides." J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2023, 145, 12771–12782. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.3c03182
  5. D. Rozsar et al. "Bifunctional iminophosphorane-catalysed enantioselective nitroalkane addition to unactivated α,β-unsaturated esters." Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2023, e202303391. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202303391
  6. D. Matheau-Raven and D. J. Dixon "A one-pot synthesis-functionalisation strategy for streamlined access to 2,5-disubstituted 1,3,4-oxadiazoles from carboxylic acids." J. Org. Chem., 2022, 87, 12498–12505. DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.2c01669
  7. L.-G. Xie and D. J. Dixon "Iridium-catalysed reductive Ugi-type reactions of tertiary amides." Nature Communications, 2018, 9, 2841. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05192-7

References

  1. ^ a b "Darren Dixon". University of Oxford Department of Chemistry. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Professor Darren Dixon – RSC Tilden Prize Winner 2023". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  3. ^ "Darren Dixon – Wadham College Fellow Profile". Wadham College, University of Oxford. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  4. ^ "Management – Synthesis for Biology and Medicine CDT". University of Oxford. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  5. ^ "Advisory Board – Medicinal & Bioorganic Chemistry Foundation". Medicinal & Bioorganic Chemistry Foundation. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  6. ^ Formica, M.; Dixon, D. J. (2020). "Bifunctional iminophosphorane superbase catalysis: applications in organic synthesis". Accounts of Chemical Research. 53 (10): 2235–2247. doi:10.1021/acs.accounts.0c00369. PMID 32886474.
  7. ^ Formica, M.; Ferko, B.; Dixon, D. J. (2024). "Second-generation catalytic enantioselective nucleophilic desymmetrisation at phosphorus(V)". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 63 (18) e202400673. doi:10.1002/anie.202400673. PMID 38381534.
  8. ^ "Darren Dixon and Michael Willis receive Arthur C. Cope Distinguished Scholars Award 2026". University of Oxford Department of Chemistry. 19 August 2026. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  9. ^ "Darren Dixon receives Charles Rees Award 2024". University of Oxford Department of Chemistry. 8 August 2024. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  10. ^ "Six Oxford University scientists win Royal Society of Chemistry Prizes 2023". University of Oxford. 13 June 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
  11. ^ "RSC Catalysis in Organic Chemistry Award". Royal Society of Chemistry. Retrieved 21 October 2025.
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