Wesley Moran

Biography

Dr Wesley Moran obtained both his degree in chemistry and his PhD in organic synthesis from the University of Sheffield. He undertook postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and then at The University of Manchester. In 2007, he was appointed to a lectureship in organic chemistry at the University of Huddersfield and moved to Keele University in 2023.

Wes is a passionate scientist and educator. He hopes to develop impactful new synthetic chemistry and instil curiosity in his students.

Research and scholarship

Wes has developed an externally funded research programme in synthetic chemistry with a focus on the use of iodine in its different oxidation states. The goal of the research is to develop novel and sustainable chemical reactions that are applicable to the synthesis of compounds with useful pharmacological or materials applications.

For example, he has developed the synthesis of a range of novel iodonium salts (λ³-iodanes) and investigated their utility as reagents in further synthesis.

He has also developed several new reactions that involve iodine(I)/iodine(III) catalysis. For example, cyclopentanes containing adjacent quaternary and tertiary stereocentres were shown to be constructed from acyclic alkynes with high diastereoselectivities.

In addition, Wes is interested in modern synthetic techniques and uses electrochemistry and photochemistry in his research endeavours. For example, he has developed the cyclisation of allylamines to 2-oxazolines mediated by electrochemically generated hypervalent iodine species.