Imo Squire
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imosquire.bsky.social
Imo Squire
@imosquire.bsky.social
PhD student in Bakewell group at KCL | Main group chemistry | Uni of York alumna | she/her
Reposted by Imo Squire
We are advertising for two PhD studentships in organometallic chemistry! Come and work with us @imperialchemistry.bsky.social from October 2026:
Advert 2) www.findaphd.com/phds/project...
PhD Studentship in C–H Functionalisation Using Polymetallic Complexes at Imperial College London on FindAPhD.com
PhD Project - PhD Studentship in C–H Functionalisation Using Polymetallic Complexes at Imperial College London, listed on FindAPhD.com
www.findaphd.com
November 7, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Amazing to see Olympia's titanocenes featured as a HOT article 🔥 pubs.rsc.org/en/journals/... and Ginevra's awesome artwork on the inside front cover 🎨
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a... of latest issue! @daltontrans.rsc.org
October 24, 2025 at 9:15 AM
Reposted by Imo Squire
A PDRA position is available @bathchem.bsky.social in the Liptrot group. Great opportunity with a fantastic group!

www.bath.ac.uk/jobs/Vacancy...
AP13080 Research Associate in Organometallic Chemistry - Jobs at Bath
www.bath.ac.uk
October 6, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
The promised watch this space is now online with VIP status
Heavyweight Champion: Caesium Diorganophosphides Outperform Lighter Congeners in Catalytic Hydrophosphination Angewandte Chemie International Edition - Wiley Online Library onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Heavyweight Champion: Caesium Diorganophosphides Outperform Lighter Congeners in the Catalytic Hydrophosphination of Alkenes and Alkynes
The heavier, the better! We report that the caesium congener is the most active and versatile catalyst amongst a full group set of well-defined crown ether supported alkali metal diphenyl phosphides ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 11, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Why is Pd often "better" at C-H activation than Ni? Just published in JACS, we show that Pd acidifies C(sp3)-H bonds 100,000 times more than Ni. Our DFT collab with @tkschramm.bsky.social and Andreas Hansen @unibonn.bsky.social was crucial to explain acid-base rxns!

pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
September 9, 2025 at 2:54 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Ending the week on a high! Check out our comparison of manganate and magnesiate now published in ChemComm! Great team effort @bathchem.bsky.social with @tobiaskramer.bsky.social in understanding these elusive bimetallics!
A direct comparison of lithium tetra(n-butyl) manganate(II) and magnesiate: structural insights and catalytic hydroamination of styrenes
Previous studies have hinted at the similarities of Mn(II) and Mg alkyl complexes. Advancing this field, here we present a comparative study of tetra(n-butyl) lithium manganate(II) and magnesiate. Com...
pubs.rsc.org
September 5, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
THIS CHALLENGING SYNTHESIS completes the (BDI)Ae-(benzene)-Ae(BDI) series (Ae = Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) with Ba. We show trends in stability, structure, bonding and reactivity. Reacting like (BDI)Ba-Ba(BDI) this is the first Ba(I) synthon. shorturl.at/ZdToA @chemicalscience.rsc.org
September 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Reposted by Imo Squire
P4 REDUCTION generally results in multi-nuclear Zintl anions: P8(2-), P4(2-) or P7(3-). Reaction with a soluble Mg(0) complex gave full reduction to P(3-). Latter anion serves as a triple base, a three-fold nucleophile or 3e-reducing agent. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.10
September 2, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Had an amazing week @usic-2025.bsky.social! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👩‍🔬 Very proud of the whole King's contingent but particularly @michi-tritto.bsky.social for a great talk on some of our new work from the @bakewellgroup.bsky.social. Thanks to all the organisers, it was a truly fab conference (+ceilidh!)
September 4, 2025 at 12:37 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Big thank you to Professor Robert E. Mulvey for opening the USIC 2025 conference, and the amazing opening presentation from one of our plenary speakers, Professor Eva Hevia from the University of Bern. We also want to say a big thank you to all our other wonderful speakers this morning.
August 28, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
@usic-2025.bsky.social great talk from Michelangelo of the @bakewellgroup.bsky.social on amazing triangular Al3 structures.
@rsc.org
August 28, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Thrilled to share a first publication of the group! We report on cadmium aluminyls that find application as Cd-nucleophiles and(!) Al(I)-Transfer reagents. Now out in @jacs.acspublications.org ! 🥳👍
Thanks a lot to @chemieverband.bsky.social for the generous funding. pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...
Functional Al/Cd Heterometallics─From Controlled Al(I) Transfer to Nucleophilic Transfer of Cadmium Ions
Low-valent cadmium compounds have remained largely unexplored as electron reservoirs, with no precedent for their use in reduction or bond activation chemistry. Here, we address this gap by integratin...
pubs.acs.org
August 25, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Thrilled of having contributed to this investigation of low-valent aluminium species and their unique reactivity with azides. Great collaboration with the Stalke and Krawczuk groups! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Intriguing Reactivity of a 1,2‐Dihydrodialumane Towards Organic Azides – From a Terminal Diazido–Dialumane to Pendulum‐Clock‐Like Azide Bridging
The reaction of a dihydro-dialane supported by a hybrid ligand (DNI) with organic azides yields structurally diverse aluminium species, including the first example of low oxidation state aluminium az...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
July 8, 2025 at 3:41 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
I did not have the pleasure of acquiring this beautiful EPR spectrum, but I did have fun fitting it! @esr-group.bsky.social #epr #chemsky
July 3, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Amazing, huge congratulations to Clare! 👏🥳👩‍🔬
Very honoured that the groups work has been recognised with the 2025 Sir Edward Frankland Prize. I’m very lucky to get to work with such a talented and creative bunch!

#RSCPrizes @rsc.org
June 25, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
"I had spent half my life working toward my dream of being a scientist. It had given me a sense of purpose. But now it dawned on me that, for the sake of my health, I was going to have to let that dream go." #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth
Science used to be my safe space. But when I spiraled into depression, I quit my Ph.D.
The author had been using research “as a way of trying to control the uncontrollable”
scim.ag
May 18, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Our latest now out @chemrxiv.bsky.social - some beautiful Ni/Al chemistry from Joey in collaboration with Benedek and @crimmingroup.bsky.social! 🔥🔥

chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
May 14, 2025 at 1:49 AM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Dorothy Hodgkin was born #OTD in 1910. She won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work using X-ray crystallography to determine complex chemical structures 🏅

wp.me/s4aPLT-hodgkin

#ChemSky 🧪
May 12, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Happy Friday! Chuffed to see this work out in @rscmechanochem.rsc.org. Very thankful for all of the hard work put in for this paper, especially by Laura who helped to kickstart this mechanochemical venture.
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/a...
Mechanochemically Micronised Na/NaCl; a Superfine Reductant
A free-flowing, homogeneous and non-pyrophoric powder of Na/NaCl is prepared via planetary ball-milling. The mechanochemically micronised Na/NaCl serves as a highly activated source of sodium and was ...
pubs.rsc.org
May 9, 2025 at 11:01 AM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Hey #chemsky check out our Perspective on Al(II) chemistry in JACS_Au led by @roushansingh.bsky.social. Thanks to the editors for inviting us to participate in their special issue on sustainable small molecule activation!
doi.org/10.1021/jacs...
Molecular Design of Al(II) Intermediates for Small Molecule Activation
Promoting societally important small molecule activation processes with earth-abundant metals is foundational for a sustainable chemistry future. In this context, mapping new reaction pathways that would enable abundant main-group elements to mimic the behaviors of d- and f-block elements is facilitated by exploring unusual oxidation states. The most abundant metal on earth, aluminum, has been well studied in the Lewis acidic +III and Lewis basic +I oxidation states but rarely in the potentially biphilic +II oxidation state until recently, when a renaissance of Al(II) chemistry emerged from a range of research groups. In this Perspective, we review the chemistry of mononuclear Al radicals, including both Al-centered radicals (i.e., Al(II) compounds) and redox non-innocent systems (i.e., formally Al(II) species that are physically Al(III) with ligand-centered radicals), with an emphasis on small molecule reactivity. We also provide a meta-analysis of the Al(II) literature to summarize how different design strategies (e.g., redox non-innocence, strained coordination geometries) have been shown to impart biphilic character to Al radicals and tune their behavior, thus allowing Al radicals to mimic the chemistry of certain d- and f-block metal ions such as Ti(III) and Sm(II). We expect these molecular design concepts to inform future Al(II) studies as the chemistry of this unusual oxidation state of Al continues to grow.
doi.org
May 8, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Reposted by Imo Squire
New paper out today in @natsynth.nature.com
from Wenbang Yang. We describe addition of Zn–Zn bonds to main group carbenes. The system nicely illustrates the continuum between oxidative addition and reductive addition processes. rdcu.be/ejPSS
April 29, 2025 at 11:06 AM
Reposted by Imo Squire
Interested in learning more about sustainable approaches in fluorine chemistry? @shannonesf.bsky.social has a new @chemrxiv.bsky.social out summarising synthetic and catalytic approaches that could underpin a future circular economy for fluorocarbons. chemrxiv.org/engage/chemr...
May 1, 2025 at 8:23 AM
Reposted by Imo Squire
We want everyone in the chemical sciences community to feel welcome, supported and valued, so we're sad to see some people seize on yesterday's supreme court ruling with anti-trans messages. Today, we're highlighting our resources on allyship for trans colleagues and friends
rsc.li/4j6lojs
LGBT+ toolkit
This kit provides the tools for everyone to take part in positive change: employers, colleagues, and LGBT+ individuals.
rsc.li
April 17, 2025 at 9:07 AM