Department of Chemistry, FCT-UNL

LAQV-REQUIMTE - Associate Laboratory for Green Chemistry


office 402, tel. +351212948300, ext.10923

email: k.zalewska@campus.fct.unl.pt

short CV / research interests:

I´ve obtained the master degree in Organic Chemical Technology (specialization in Chemical Technology) at the Silesian University of Technology, Gliwice, Poland in 2009. From 2010-2014 I was working on the PhD project in Sustainable Chemistry under the supervision of Dr. Luis C. Branco (´Development of novel ionic liquids (ILs) based on biological molecules´). My scientific interest is mostly related with the synthesis and characterization of new chiral ionic liquids (CILs) derived from natural scaffolds such as: aminoacids (L-cysteine, L-proline) and bases of nucleic acid (nucleosides and nucleotides). Studies on their application for chiral discrimination processes, including in asymmetric synthesis and resolution of racemates have been performed. Furthermore, interactions of cyclodextrins (CDs) with several ionic liquid were examinated. The use of ILs-CDs complexes can increase the solubility behavior of CDs which is essential to expand the range of their applications. Since 2015 I´m a researcher focused on the development and application of chiral salts from other natural sources such as bileacids.

Main methodologies used: standard synthetic methods for determination of ILs, NMR, FTIR spectroscopy, polarimetry, UV-Vis absorption spectroscopies, HPLC and rheology studies.

Publications submitted and accepted:

K. Zalewska, L. C. Branco, ´Chiral Ionic Liquids based on S-Methyl-L-cysteine for enantiomeric resolution´, Tetrahedron, 2013

Karolina Zalewska, Luís C. Branco Organocatalysis with Chiral Ionic Liquids,  Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry 2014, 11(4), 141.

Chiral Ionic Liquids based on L-Cysteine derivatives for asymmetric aldol reaction, Karolina Zalewska, Luis C. Branco, Org. Letters 2015 (in revision)