Hulla group

We are a new, motivated and dynamic research group at Charles University in Prague. Our research primarily involves the synthesis of novel Lewis acids, preparation of Frustrated Lewis Pairs (FLPs) and sequestration and valorization of CO₂ with the aid of FLP type catalysts. The use of CO₂ in chemical synthesis is of extreme interest due to its abundance, low toxicity and its high potential for mitigation of anthropogenic emissions of CO₂ from chemical industry.  Carbon dioxide can be used as a C1 building block in the preparation of diverse organic compounds. For example reductive coupling of CO₂ with amines produces some of the most important starting materials for drug development, synthesis of agrochemicals, and the formation of surfactants. If hydrogen is used as the reductant water becomes the only reaction byproduct. Therefore, water stability of the catalyst is of the utmost importance. Reactivity of classical FLPs is inhibited by the presence of water, so a major goal for us is the preparation of water stable FLPs with the aid of group 13/14 Lewis acids. The development of water-stable FLPs will allow us to move past the need for precious metal catalysts and allow us to develop greener synthetic processes for many important chemicals.

About dr. Hulla Martin Hulla completed his Ph.D. at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and his Master degree at the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London. In 2019 he joined the Inorganic Chemistry department at Charles University as an Assistant Professor. His research is focused on Main group chemistry, catalysis and the study of reaction mechanisms with principal goals of sequestration, reduction and valorization of CO2. Download CV

Research interests

SYNTHESIS OF NOVEL LEWIS ACIDS

Synthesis of main group Lewis acids, particularly of tin, germanium, boron, and gallium with desired properties of water stability and ability to perform reductive reactions with hydrogen gas.

CONVERSION OF CO₂ INTO VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS

Using our water-stable Lewis acids to catalyse reductive coupling reactions of CO₂ with amines (and other nucleophiles) in order to valorize CO₂ as a C1 building block.

METAL FREE HYDROGEN ACTIVATION

Coupling of our Lewis acids with suitable bases to form FLPs which can then activate hydrogen and reduce CO₂ and other unsaturated compounds.

REACTION MECHANISM ELUCIDATION

We seek a deeper understanding of how our FLP catalysts. Therefore, we use a variety of analytical and computational methods in order to elucidate the mechanisms of our reactions so that we may design better catalysts.

HIGH PRESSURE REACTIONS

We utilize reactions at high pressure to test our catalysts with gases such as CO₂ and H₂ but also to elucidate reaction mechanisms.