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Staff Profile

Dr Roly Armstrong

Lecturer

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Background

I am a Lecturer in organic chemistry in the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Â鶹´«Ã½. My research programme focusses on the developing of new synthetic methodologies to tackle challenging problems in catalysis, synthesis, materials science and medicine, with a particular emphasis on improving both selectivity and sustainability.

Before taking up this post, I held a Junior Research Fellowship at University College, University of Oxford. Prior to this, I worked as a Postdoctoral Research Associate with Prof. Timothy Donohoe (University of Oxford) and Prof. Varinder Aggarwal FRS (University of Bristol).

Qualifications:

2011-2015: DPhil in organic chemistry with Prof. Martin Smith (University of Oxford)

2007-2011: B.A. and MSci in Natural Sciences (University of Cambridge)

Links: 

Scopus: 

ORCID: 

Research

Our research programme broadly focuses on the development of new synthetic methodology to efficiently assemble organic molecules. We are particularly interested in developing catalytic and mechanochemical approaches to prepare useful materials that cannot be accessed using existing synthetic methods.

Current areas of interest include:

Asymmetric Catalysis

Catalysis plays a central role in society, enabling the production of important molecules at low cost with minimal environmental impact. Our research is focussed on identifying new ways to control stereoselectivity within catalytic reactions. This encompasses both the design of novel ligands and catalyst systems, as well as the development of new catalytic asymmetric processes.

Atropisomerism

Drug discovery programmes are increasingly shifting their focus to three-dimensional candidates, which allow exploration of novel biological and chemical space. In this context, we are particularly interested in atropisomers. These are molecules which are built from two-dimensional building blocks, but adopt an overall three-dimensional arrangement because rotation about a key bond is restricted. Our research focusses upon designing new atropisomeric scaffolds, devising methodology for their stereoselective synthesis and investigating their applications in drug discovery and agrochemistry.

Mechanochemistry

Recent work from our group has shown that mechanochemistry, where chemical transformations are driven by mechanical force, can unlock the unique reactivity of metallic elements such as sodium, enabling the development of more sustainable and efficient synthetic processes. This includes mechanochemical synthesis of organosodium reagents, as well as methods to degrade fluoropolymers and upcycle their fluorine content.

Publications

  • Articles

    • Kondo K, Lowe M, Davison N, Waddell PG, Armstrong RJ, Lu E, Kubota K, Ito H. . Nature Synthesis 2026, 5, 669–679.
    • Wootton J, Roper NJ, Morris CE, Maguire VE, Duff L, Waddell PG, Whitwood AC, Gammons R, Miah AH, Lynam JM, Armstrong RJ, Unsworth WP. . Chemical Science 2025, 16(9), 3938-3945.
    • Hemingway JM, Yang X, Waddell PG, Cornelio J, Lowe ME, Dawson JA, Slater PR, Armstrong RJ, Lu E. . Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers 2026, 13(3), 1073–1079.
    • O'Shea D, Pim S, Campbell ADG, Levshov D, Herrebout W, Durán-Sampedro D, Hall MJ, Armstrong R. . ChemPhotoChem 2025, 9(7), e202500042.
    • Yang X, Davison N, Lowe ME, Waddell PG, Armstrong RJ, McMullin CL, Hopkinson MN, Lu E. . Chemical Science 2025, 16(24), 11151-11160.
    • Lowe ME, Gallant BM, Davison N, Hopkinson MN, Kubicki DJ, Lu E, Armstrong RJ. . Journal of the American Chemical Society 2025, 147(44), 40895–40899.
    • Roper NJ, Hardy GM, Wootton JM, Waddell PG, Wilson J, Armstrong RJ. . Chemical Communications 2025, 89(61), 17388-17391.
    • Campbell ADG, Roper NJ, Waddell PG, Wills C, Dixon CM, Denton RM, Ermanis K, Armstrong RJ. . Chemical Communications 2024, 60(28), 3818-3821.
    • Roper NJ, Campbell ADG, Waddell PG, Brown AK, Ermanis K, Armstrong RJ. . Chemical Science 2024, 15(40), 16743-16751.
    • Campbell ADG, Armstrong RJ. . Synthesis 2023, 55.
    • Smith LB, Armstrong RJ, Hou J, Smith E, Sze M, Sterling AJ, Smith A, Duarte F, Donohoe TJ. . Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2023, 62(36), e202307424.
    • Heeb JP, Clayden J, Smith MD, Armstrong RJ. . Nature Protocols 2023, 18, 2745–2771.
    • Armstrong RJ, Donohoe TJ. . Tetrahedron Letters 2021, 74(22), 153151.
    • Cheang DMJ, Armstrong RJ, Akhtar WM, Donohoe TJ. . Chemical Communications 2020, 56, 3543-3546.
    • Kwok T, Hoff O, Armstrong RJ, Donohoe TJ. . Chemistry: A European Journal 2020, 26(57), 12912-12926.
    • Smith LB, Armstrong RJ, Matheau-Raven D, Donohoe TJ. . Journal of the American Chemical Society 2020, 142(5), 2514-2523.
    • Chamberlain AER, Paterson KJ, Armstrong RJ, Twin HC, Donohoe TJ. . Chemical Communications 2020, 56(24), 3563-3566.
    • Armstrong RJ. . Current Organic Chemistry 2019, 23(27), 3027-3039.
    • Armstrong RJ, Akhtar WM, Frost JR, Christensen KE, Stevenson NG, Donohoe TJ. . Tetrahedron 2019, 75(48), 130680.
    • Armstrong RJ, Akhtar WM, Young TA, Duarte F, Donohoe TJ. . Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2019, 58(36), 12558-12562.
    • Akhtar WM, Armstrong RJ, Frost JR, Stevenson NG, Donohoe TJ. . Journal of the American Chemical Society 2018, 140(38), 11916–11920.
    • Armstrong RJ, Aggarwal VK. . Organic Syntheses 2018, 94, 234.
    • Armstrong RJ, Nandakumar M, Dias RMP, Noble A, Myers EL, Aggarwal VK. . Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2018, 57(27), 8203-8208.
    • Armstrong RJ, Niwetmarin W, Aggarwal VK. . Organic Letters 2017, 19(10), 2762-2765.
    • Armstrong RJ, Garcia Ruiz C, Myers EL, Aggarwal VK. . Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2017, 56(3), 786-790.
    • Armstrong RJ, Sandford C, Garcia Ruiz C, Aggarwal VK. . Chemical Communications 2017, 53(36), 4922-4925.
    • Jolliffe JD, Armstrong RJ, Smith MD. . Nature Chemistry 2017, 9, 558-562.
    • Armstrong RJ, Aggarwal VK. . Synthesis 2017, 49(15), 3323-3336.
    • Armstrong RJ, DAscenzio M, Smith MD. . Synlett 2016, 27(1), 6-10.
    • Armstrong RJ, Smith MD. . Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2014, 53(47), 12822-12826.
    • OBrien M, Leach A, Armstrong RJ, Chong K, Sheridan R. A Diastereoselective Synthesis of 2,6-Syn-Disubstituted Piperidines under Thermodynamic Control. Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry 2012, 10, 2392-2394.