
Overview
Background
David Cantillo studied chemistry at the University of Extremadura, Spain. In 2011, he obtained his PhD under the supervision of Prof. Jose Luis Jimenez at the same university. His PhD work focused on the experimental and theoretical study of 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of mesoionic compounds. Then, he moved to the University of Graz as a postdoctoral researcher within the group of Prof. C. Oliver Kappe, where he gained experience in flow chemistry. In 2018, he started his independent academic career at the University of Graz as an Assistant Professor and became an Area Leader at the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH. David has joined the University of Queensland in 2023.
His research group focuses on synthetic organic electrochemistry. In particular, the group explores the use of electrical current to develop novel synthetic methodologies and more sustainable routes for the synthesis of medicines, as well as process scale up using continuous flow technology.
Availability
- Dr David Cantillo is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Licentiate of Chemistry, Universidad de Extremadura
- Doctoral (Research) of Organic Chemistry, Universidad de Extremadura
Research interests
-
Synthetic organic electrochemistry
Development of novel synthetic methods of organic compounds, such as active pharmaceutical ingredients and agrochemicals, using electrolysis instead of chemical reagents. Scale up of electrochemical reactions using flow electrolysis cells to ensure industrial application of electrochemical methods
Research impacts
David has published over 90 papers in scientific journals that have been cited over 5000 times (H-Index=32). His research has been recognized with several awards, including the 2020 Thieme Chemistry Journals Award, the 2024 OPRD award from the ACS and the Inventor Award from UniGraz. David is member of the scientific advisory boards of Axplora and Chimica Oggi.
Works
Search Professor David Cantillo’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Scalable Electrochemical Dehalogenative Carboxylation without a Sacrificial Metal Anode
Petrovic, Nikola, Laudadio, Gabriele, Salazar, Chase A., Kong, Caleb J., Verghese, Jenson, Hesketh, Alexander, Reyes, Giselle P., Desrosiers, Jean-Nicolas, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2025). Scalable Electrochemical Dehalogenative Carboxylation without a Sacrificial Metal Anode. Advanced Synthesis & Catalysis. doi: 10.1002/adsc.202401538
2025
Journal Article
Electrochemical fluorination of organic compounds using a hexafluorosilicate salt as an inexpensive and widely available fluorine source
Köpfler, David M., Laudadio, Gabriele, Bovino, Clara, Bersier, Michael, Littich, Ryan, Roberge, Dominique M., Wagschal, Simon, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2025). Electrochemical fluorination of organic compounds using a hexafluorosilicate salt as an inexpensive and widely available fluorine source. Organic Letters, 27 (4), 1084-1088. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.5c00055
2025
Journal Article
Catalytic screening for 1,2-diol protection: a saccharose-derived hydrothermal carbon showcases enhanced performance
Moreno, Laura, Pardo-Botello, Rosario, Durán-Valle, Carlos J., Adame-Pereira, Marta, Cintas, Pedro, Chan, Larrisa, Cantillo, David and Martínez, Rafael Fernando (2025). Catalytic screening for 1,2-diol protection: a saccharose-derived hydrothermal carbon showcases enhanced performance. Applied Sciences, 15 (2) 807, 1-23. doi: 10.3390/app15020807
2024
Journal Article
An automated electrochemical flow platform to accelerate library synthesis and reaction optimization
Rial-Rodríguez, Eduardo, Williams, Jason D., Cantillo, David, Fuchß, Thomas, Sommer, Alena, Eggenweiler, Hans-Michael, Kappe, C. Oliver and Laudadio, Gabriele (2024). An automated electrochemical flow platform to accelerate library synthesis and reaction optimization. Angewandte Chemie, 63 (51) e202412045. doi: 10.1002/ange.202412045
2024
Journal Article
Scalable catalyst free electrochemical chlorination of aminophenol derivatives enabled by a quasi-divided cell approach
Malviya, Bhanwar K., Laudadio, Gabriele, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2024). Scalable catalyst free electrochemical chlorination of aminophenol derivatives enabled by a quasi-divided cell approach. Green Chemistry, 26 (20), 10479-10485. doi: 10.1039/d4gc03569k
2024
Journal Article
Merging inline NMR monitoring and flow chemistry in the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory
Welch, Bradley Graeme and Cantillo, David (2024). Merging inline NMR monitoring and flow chemistry in the undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. Journal of Chemical Education, 101 (8), 3459-3465. doi: 10.1021/acs.jchemed.4c00429
2024
Journal Article
Design of experiments-based optimization of an electrochemical decarboxylative alkylation using a spinning cylinder electrode reactor
Petrović, Nikola, Cumming, Graham R., Hone, Christopher A., Nieves-Remacha, María José, García-Losada, Pablo, de Frutos, Óscar, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2024). Design of experiments-based optimization of an electrochemical decarboxylative alkylation using a spinning cylinder electrode reactor. Organic Process Research and Development, 28 (7), 2928-2934. doi: 10.1021/acs.oprd.4c00178
2024
Journal Article
Recent advances in synthetic organic electrochemistry using flow systems
Cantillo, David (2024). Recent advances in synthetic organic electrochemistry using flow systems. Current Opinion in Electrochemistry, 44 101459, 101459. doi: 10.1016/j.coelec.2024.101459
2024
Journal Article
Scalable quasi-divided cell operation using spinning cylinder electrode technology: multigram electrochemical synthesis of an axitinib intermediate
Malviya, Bhanwar K., Hansen, Eric C., Kong, Caleb J., Imbrogno, Joseph, Verghese, Jenson, Guinness, Steven M., Salazar, Chase A., Desrosiers, Jean-Nicolas, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2024). Scalable quasi-divided cell operation using spinning cylinder electrode technology: multigram electrochemical synthesis of an axitinib intermediate. Organic Process Research and Development, 28 (3), 790-797. doi: 10.1021/acs.oprd.3c00508
2024
Journal Article
Aniline derivatives from lignin under mild conditions enabled by electrochemistry
Castillo-Garcia, Antonio A., Kappe, Christian Oliver, Cantillo, David and Barta, Katalin (2024). Aniline derivatives from lignin under mild conditions enabled by electrochemistry. ChemSusChem, 17 (3) e202301374. doi: 10.1002/cssc.202301374
2024
Journal Article
Scalable electrocatalyzed formation of C–O bonds using flow reactor technology
Prieschl, Michael, Cantillo, David, Kappe, C. Oliver and Laudadio, Gabriele (2024). Scalable electrocatalyzed formation of C–O bonds using flow reactor technology. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 10 (1), 130-134. doi: 10.1039/d4re00438h
2024
Journal Article
Development of an open-source flow-through cyclic voltammetry cell for real-time inline reaction analytics
Rial-Rodríguez, Eduardo, Williams, Jason D., Eggenweiler, Hans-Michael, Fuchss, Thomas, Sommer, Alena, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2024). Development of an open-source flow-through cyclic voltammetry cell for real-time inline reaction analytics. Reaction Chemistry and Engineering, 9 (1), 26-30. doi: 10.1039/d3re00535f
2024
Journal Article
Electrochemical synthesis: A flourishing green technology for the manufacturing of organic compounds
Cantillo, David (2024). Electrochemical synthesis: A flourishing green technology for the manufacturing of organic compounds. Current Research in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 9 100416, 100416. doi: 10.1016/j.crgsc.2024.100416
2023
Journal Article
Electrifying Friedel-Crafts intramolecular alkylation toward 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydronaphthalenes
Lunghi, Enrico, Ronco, Pietro, Della Negra, Federico, Trucchi, Beatrice, Verzini, Massimo, Merli, Daniele, Casali, Emanuele, Kappe, C Oliver, Cantillo, David and Zanoni, Giuseppe (2023). Electrifying Friedel-Crafts intramolecular alkylation toward 1,1-disubstituted tetrahydronaphthalenes. The Journal of Organic Chemistry, 88 (24), 16783-16789. doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c01281
2023
Journal Article
A Low-Volume Flow Electrochemical Microreactor for Rapid and Automated Process Optimization
Rial-Rodríguez, Eduardo, Wagner, Johannes F., Eggenweiler, Hans-Michael, Fuchss, Thomas, Sommer, Alena, Kappe, C. Oliver, Williams, Jason and Cantillo, David (2023). A Low-Volume Flow Electrochemical Microreactor for Rapid and Automated Process Optimization. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering, 9 (1), 1-6. doi: 10.1039/d3re00586k
2023
Journal Article
Multigram electrochemical Hofmann rearrangement using a spinning three-dimensional anode
Malviya, Bhanwar K., Bottecchia, Cecilia, Stone, Kevin, Lehnherr, Dan, Lévesque, François, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2023). Multigram electrochemical Hofmann rearrangement using a spinning three-dimensional anode. Organic Process Research and Development, 27 (11), 2183-2191. doi: 10.1021/acs.oprd.3c00332
2023
Other Outputs
Electrochemical reactor and processes using the electrochemical reactor
Kappe, Oliver, Sommer, Florian and Cantillo, David (2023). Electrochemical reactor and processes using the electrochemical reactor. WO2023180283A2.
2023
Journal Article
Metal‐free electrochemical reduction of disulfides in an undivided cell under mass transfer control
Malviya, Bhanwar K., Hansen, Eric C., Kong, Caleb J., Imbrogno, Joseph, Verghese, Jenson, Guinness, Steven M., Salazar, Chase A., Desrosiers, Jean‐Nicolas, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2023). Metal‐free electrochemical reduction of disulfides in an undivided cell under mass transfer control. Chemistry: A European Journal, 29 (66) e202302664, 1-7. doi: 10.1002/chem.202302664
2023
Journal Article
Scaling-up electroorganic synthesis using a spinning electrode electrochemical reactor in batch and flow mode
Petrović, Nikola, Malviya, Bhanwar K., Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2023). Scaling-up electroorganic synthesis using a spinning electrode electrochemical reactor in batch and flow mode. Organic Process Research and Development, 27 (11), 2072-2081. doi: 10.1021/acs.oprd.3c00255
2023
Journal Article
Electrochemical nickel-catalyzed C(sp3)–C(sp3) cross-coupling of alkyl halides with alkyl tosylates
Ibrahim, Malek Y. S., Cumming, Graham R., Gonzalez de Vega, Raquel, Garcia-Losada, Pablo, de Frutos, Oscar, Kappe, C. Oliver and Cantillo, David (2023). Electrochemical nickel-catalyzed C(sp3)–C(sp3) cross-coupling of alkyl halides with alkyl tosylates. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 145 (31), 17023-17028. doi: 10.1021/jacs.3c07313
Supervision
Availability
- Dr David Cantillo is:
- Available for supervision
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Available projects
-
Synthetic organic electrochemisty
This project deals with the development of novel methods for the preparation of pharmaceutical intermediates using electrochemistry
Media
Enquiries
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