The O'Hare Group develops catalysts and functional materials that close loops in the chemical economy: upgrading abundant small molecules, defossilising chemical manufacturing through electrification, and enabling more recyclable plastics and packaging. Our approach combines organometallic chemistry, solid-state materials and device-relevant testing to deliver scalable, lower-toxicity routes to fuels, chemicals and materials.

Abundant-element catalysis for small-molecule upgrading

Modern decarbonisation demands chemistry that is cheaper, less toxic, and less resource-limited than precious-metal routes. We design d- and p-block catalysts and ligand environments that unlock new reactivity and selectivity for transformations of key industrial feedstocks (CO/CO2, H2, olefins), with emphasis on mechanism-led discovery and scalability.

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Plastic waste to chemical feedstocks

Plastics are essential but end-of-life management is failing at scale. We develop catalytic pathways for polyolefin upcycling, targeting higher-value chemical feedstocks with reduced energy input and carbon footprint.

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Electrifying synthesis with renewable electrons

Green hydrogen and electrified chemical manufacture are central to net-zero systems, but key electrochemical steps remain limited by kinetics, selectivity and durability. We develop earth-abundant electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution and build modular electrochemical platforms (including flow architectures) for practical electrocatalytic hydrogenation using water as the hydrogen source.

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Existing exemplars

Bio-oil hydrodeoxygenation (HDO): high-activity, stable HDO catalysts convert wood/bark-derived bio-oil fractions into liquid alkanes efficiently.

Recyclable high-barrier packaging: LDH nanosheet dispersions form transparent, robust barrier coatings that can replace metallised films and improve recyclability while delivering extremely low oxygen/water vapour transmission.