Juan Cámpora Pérez
Group: Development of Catalysts for Industrial Processes
Position: CSIC Research Professor
Contact
Tel. ext: 446255
Office: D S001
Email:
ORCID: 0000-0001-7305-1296
Biography
Juan Cámpora is a CSIC Research Professor at the Institute for Chemical Research (IIQ) of the University of Seville, where he leads the Group of Catalyst Design for Chemical Processes of Industrial Interest. His scientific career has been guided by a lasting fascination with organometallic chemistry and by the conviction that molecular design can turn fundamental knowledge into practical innovation.
He earned his Chemistry degree with honors from the University of Seville in 1986 and completed his Ph.D. under the supervision of Professors Ernesto Carmona and Manuel L. Poveda, studying the organometallic chemistry of nickel. During his doctoral years, he also carried out research stays with Professors D. J. Cole-Hamilton and G. Erker, which broadened his understanding of metal-mediated reactivity and catalysis.
In 1990 he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to join Professor Stephen L. Buchwald at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he studied η²-benzyne and metallacyclic complexes. That experience was decisive in shaping his independent approach to molecular design and mechanism.
After returning to Spain in 1993, he joined the newly founded IIQ, obtained a tenured position in 1995, and in 2007 established a research team with Dr. Pilar Palma, which evolved into his current group. He has been Head of the IIQ and has held responsibility posts in large European projects and at CSIC. His research focuses on transition- and main-group organometallic chemistry, with emphasis on ligand design and homogeneous catalysis. Among the outcomes of his work are the “Cámpora’s reagent” and the palladium carbocycle now commercialized by Sigma-Aldrich. In 2020 he received the GEQO Research Excellence Award from the Organometallic Chemistry Section of the Spanish Royal Society of Chemistry.
He has regularly collaborated in teaching Organometallic Chemistry at the Universities of Seville and Alcalá de Henares, and has mentored more than fifteen Ph.D. students and numerous young researchers. He regards the latter as one of his most meaningful professional achievements.
Research interests
The research of prof. Cámpora focuses on the chemistry of organometallic complexes and their role in homogeneous catalysis. His work seeks to understand how molecular structure and electronic effects determine reactivity, and how this knowledge can be used to design catalysts that perform efficient and selective chemical transformations.
His group combines synthesis, spectroscopy, and computational modeling to explore the mechanisms of reactions involving transition and main-group metals. A particular emphasis is placed on ligand design, developing new architectures that allow control over charge, spin, and coordination geometry. This approach has led to a wide variety of metal complexes with applications ranging from small-molecule activation to polymerization catalysis and organic synthesis.
Over the years, his group has contributed to understanding the cooperation between metals and ligands in catalysis, the stabilization of reactive intermediates, and the conversion of fundamental insights into practical catalytic systems. Among the tangible results of this research are reagents and precursors that have become references in the field, such as the Cámpora’s reagent and the palladium carbocycle now commercialized by Sigma-Aldrich.
More recently, his interests have expanded toward non-innocent ligand chemistry and zwitterionic organometallic systems, including N-heterocyclic carbene–carbodiimide adducts. Computational studies complement the experimental work, offering deeper insight into structure–reactivity relationships and catalytic mechanisms.
Beyond the technical scope, his research reflects a broader goal: to connect fundamental organometallic chemistry with the challenges of sustainable synthesis and to train young researchers capable of combining creativity, rigor, and curiosity in the pursuit of molecular innovation.
Selected publications
- Delgado-Collado, J. M.; Fernández de Córdova, F. J.; Palma, P.; Cámpora, J.; Rodríguez-Delgado, A. Turning the Tables: Ligand-Centered Hydride Shuttling in Organometallic BIP–Al Systems. Inorg. Chem. 2025, 64, 15760–15773. DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.5c02587
- Delgado-Collado, J. M.; Videa, H.; Serrano-Laguna, P. J.; Fuentes, M. Á.; Álvarez, E.; Díaz Quintana, A.; Martínez-Martínez, A. J.; Rodríguez-Delgado, A.; Cámpora, J. Reversible Redox Ligand-Centered Reactivity in 2,6-Bisiminopyridine Aluminum Systems. Inorg. Chem. 2024, 63, 19156–19166. DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.4c02664
- Martínez-Prieto, L. M.; Palma, P.; Cámpora, J. Monomeric alkoxide and alkylcarbonate complexes of nickel and palladium stabilized with the iPrPCP pincer ligand: a model for the catalytic carboxylation of alcohols to alkyl carbonates. Dalton Trans. 2019, 48, 1351–1366, 10.1039/C8DT04919J. DOI: 10.1039/C8DT04919J
- Sánchez-Roa, D.; Sessini, V.; Mosquera, M. E. G.; Cámpora, J. N-Heterocyclic Carbene-Carbodiimide (NHC-CDI) Betaines as Organocatalysts for β-Butyrolactone Polymerization: Synthesis of Green PHB Plasticizers with Tailored Molecular Weights. ACS Catalysis 2024, 14, 2487–2501. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c05357
- Santiago, T. G.; Urbaneja, C.; Álvarez, E.; Ávila, E.; Palma, P.; Cámpora, J. Neutral, cationic and anionic organonickel and -palladium complexes supported by iminophosphine/phosphinoenaminato ligands. Dalton Trans. 2020, 49, 322–335, 10.1039/C9DT04062E. DOI: 10.1039/C9DT04062E