Researcher
Dr. Niko Jenek joined the O’Hare group in April 2025 and has laid his focus on the molecular and organometallic chemistry of main group elements for the utilisation of small molecules.
Prior to Oxford, Niko gained experience as postdoctoral researcher at the Imperial College London (Prof. Mark Crimmin) from 2023 to 2025, where he conceptualised a first broad recycling concept of industrially relevant fluorochemicals, encompassing refrigerants, anaestethics, battery additives, polyfluorinated alkyl substances and fluoropolymers – using all of them as latent fluorinating agents for the synthesis of a wide range of fluorinated organic and inorganic molecules.
Niko started his chemistry endeavours with a BSc degree in chemistry focusing on organometallic catalysis and polymer chemistry (thesis with Prof. Michael Buchmeiser). To fulfil his lifelong dream of working with elemental fluorine, he then moved to Freiburg and created a project between the corresponding university (Prof. Ingo Krossing) and Europe’s largest solar energy research institute, the Fraunhofer ISE (Dr. Marc Hofmann). After surviving direct fluorinations of silicon surfaces, he received his MSc degree in chemistry in 2017. At Fraunhofer ISE he also gained experience in non-university research (Dr. Marc Hofmann and Dr. Martin Zimmer) from 2015 to 2017. He then moved to the UK and pursued a PhD in fundamental organometallic chemistry at the University of Bath (Dr. Ulrich Hintermair), where he challenged the status quo of accessing the notoriously exotic substituted pentalenide ligands by designing a record number of these species.
Besides chemistry, Niko’s passions also include laughter, coffee, ski jumping, the gym and embracing the beautiful world of the cinema.
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