Personal Details:                                                                                                                

Gender: Male                                                                               

Nationality: Croatian  

Foreign language: English (fluent); Croatian  (native)

Address: School of Nuclear Science and Technology,

Lanzhou University, No.222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000, China

E-mail: pavlem@lzu.edu.cn

 

Professor Pavle Mocilac is a Croatian radiochemist at the School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University. Born in 1978, he holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Dublin City University. With a rich international career, he worked in industry at Novartis Oncology in Croatia and completed postdoctoral research at institutions in the Czech Republic and the University of Manchester, UK, before joining Lanzhou University in December 2020. His research bridges radiochemistry and organic chemistry, primarily focusing on developing novel macrocyclic ligands and functional materials for the critical separation of actinides from lanthanides—a core challenge in nuclear fuel cycle and radioactive waste management. This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China projects. Professor Mocilac’s main achievements are in applied and fundamental research, with notable publications in high-impact journals such as Angewandte Chemie and Chemical Communications. He is highly regarded as a dedicated and meticulous educator, recognised for his exceptional commitment to mentoring students.

 

Education: 

•    2008-2012: Dublin City University, Ireland, PhD

•    1997-2002: University of Zagreb, Croatia, Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Master of Science degree

 

Relevant experience and Present Employment:

•    2020 present:    Professor, School of Nuclear Science and Technology, Lanzhou University

•    2014-2020:    The University of Manchester, Postdoctoral Research Associate at Dalton Nuclear Institute and Radiation Technical Adviser at Radiation Safety Unit of the University of Manchester 

•    2012-2014:    Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic

•    2006-2007:    Novartis Oncology Croatia Representative Office

•    2005-2006:    Research Assistant, Faculty of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Croatia

•    2003-2005:    Quality Assurance Engineer at Belupo Pharmaceutical Company in Croatia

 

Lectures : 

•    Radiopharmaceutical Chemistry (undergraduate course in English Language)

•    Radiobiology with Radiotoxicology for Radiochemists (Postgraduate course in English Language)

•    Professional English Language for Radiochemists (undergraduate course)

 

 Research fields:

•    Development of new ligands and materials for the separation of minor actinides from fission lanthanides. 

•    Solvent extraction studies

•    Organic synthesis and supramolecular chemistry

•    Synthesis and derivatives of phenanthroline and  etraazaphenanthrene (TAP)

•    Crystallography in radiochemistry research

 

Development of ligands for An/Ln separations:

The current project focuses on developing water-soluble, hydrophilic, polydentate heterocyclic ligands for the selective separation of minor actinides (Am, Cm) from lanthanides in nuclear high-level waste. The project is part of ongoing efforts in China and other countries to develop a suitable method for extracting minor actinides from high-level waste to reduce its radiotoxicity and enhance the viability and safety of nuclear energy. The ligands we are developing are based on tetradentate bistriazolyl-phenanthrolines (BtrzPhen) or bistriazinyl-tetraazaphenanthrene (BTTAP). In addition, we are investigating other polydentate ligands, such as tridentate bistriazolyl-pyrazines (BtrzPyz) and bistriazolyl-pyridines (PyTri), diamido-phenanthrolines (DAPhen), as well as bistriazolyl-terpyridine (BtrzTer). A new branch of the project aims to functionalize mesoporous silica nanoparticles with bistriazolyl-phenanthroline moieties, and another to create multipronged chelating ligands based on tridentate bistriazolyl-pyrazines. 

 

Currently collaborating with:

•    Institute of Nuclear and New Energy Technology, Tsinghua University, China

•    Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, China

•    Ganjiang Innovation Academy, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ganzhou, China

•    University of Southern China

•    Soochow University, China

•    Dublin City University, Ireland

•    Vin？a Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Serbia

•    SCK CEN, Belgian Nuclear Research Centre, Belgium

 

Scientific Societies and Awards:

•    Member of the Chemical Society of China.

•    Prize for the popularisation of science: National Science Week, 2022.

 

External pages:

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pavle-Mocilac

https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=f0WlZKAAAAAJ&hl=en 

 

Representative Publications (2010 to present):

1.    Yong Qiang Wan, Huaixin Hao, Yang-Yang Zhang, Yong Cong, Jun Lin, Zhi Peng Wang*, Pavle Mocilac*, Dependence of Lanthanide/Actinide Separation Efficiency on Terminal Hydrophilizing Moiety: The Novel Sulfonated Bistriazolyl-Phenanthroline Ligands, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2025 64(49), 23648-23660. Doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.5c03577

2.    Yong Qiang Wan, Huaixin Hao, Yang-Yang Zhang, Yu Xiao Guo, Zhi Jun Ma, Zhi Peng Wang*, Jun Lin*, Pavle Mocilac*, Efficient Trivalent Actinide-Lanthanide Separations Using Hydrophilic CHON-Compliant Phenanthroline-Dicarboxamide Ligands, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2025 64(25), 12185–12199. Doi: 10.1021/acs.iecr.5c00795 

3.    Yong Qiang Wan, Shi Lin Zhang, Yang‐Yang Zhang, Zeng Yuan Li, Xinyi Shi, John F Gallagher*, Jun Li*, Pavle Mocilac*, 10‐Azidotetrazolo [1, 5‐a][1, 10] Phenanthroline: A Case of Azido‐tetrazole Behavior in 1, 10‐Phenanthroline with Unusual Molecular Structure, Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2025, 14(11), e00592. doi: 10.1002/ajoc.202500592

4.    Shi Lin Zhang, Lu Yu, Yang Liu, John F. Gallagher, Huai Xin Hao, Yong Qiang Wan, Zhi Peng Wang*, Jun Li Wang, Tai Hong Yan, Wei Qun Shi and Pavle Mocilac*, Synthesis and study of bistriazolyl-pyrazines as new ligands for An/Ln separations, Separation and Purification Technology, 2024, 357, 130011, doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2024.130011

5.    Pavle Mocilac, Fabian Pohl, John F Gallagher, The unusual (syn-/anti-) 2 conformation of a dimethoxypyrimidyl-based tennimides, Acta Crystallographica Section E: Crystallographic Communications, 2023, 79(9), doi: 10.1107/S2056989023006837

6.    Yong Qiang Wan, Huaixin Hao, Lu Yu, Zhi Peng Wang*, Pavle Mocilac*, Novel hydrophilic bistriazolyl-phenanthroline ligands with improved solubility and performance in An/Ln separations, RSC Advances, 2023, 13(32), 21982-21990, doi: 10.1039/d3ra02707d

7.    Juan Tong, Junqiang Yang, Linlin Zhang, Tonghuan Liu, Chenyang Peng, Xufeng Ni, Tianhao Dong, Pavle Mocilac, Keliang Shi, Xiaolin Hou, Efficient removal of Se-79 from highly acidic solution using SiO2 particles functionalised with iron hydroxide, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2022, 446(4), 137387, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.137387,  

8.    John F Gallagher, Niall Hehir, Pavle Mocilac, Chloé Violin, Brendan F O’Connor, Emmanuel Aubert, Enrique Espinosa, Benoît Guillot, Christian Jelsch, Probing the Electronic Properties and Interaction Landscapes in a Series of N-(Chlorophenyl)pyridinecarboxamides, Crystal Growth & Design, 2022, 22(5), 3343-3358, doi: 10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00153

9.    Junqiang Yang, Keliang Shi, Fei Wu, Juan Tong, Yin Su, Tonghuan Liu, Jiangang He, Pavle Mocilac, Xiaolin Hou, Wangsuo Wu, Weiqun Shi, Enhanced removal of radioactive iodine anions from wastewater using modified bentonite: Experimental and theoretical study, Chemosphere, 2022, 292, 133401, doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.133401

10.    Haolong Wang, Tengfei Cui, Jixue Sui, Pavle Mocilac, Yin Wang, Zhijun Guo, Efficient UO22+ extraction by DAPhens with asymmetric terminal groups: The molecular design, spectral titration, liquid-liquid extraction and mechanism study, Separation and Purification Technology, 2022, 282(A), 120046, doi: 10.1016/j.seppur.2021.120046

11.    Junqiang Yang, Keliang Shi, Fei Wu, Juan Tong, Yin Su, Tonghuan Liu, Jiangang He, Pavle Mocilac, Xiaolin Hou, Wangsuo Wu, Weiqun Shi, Technetium-99 decontamination from radioactive wastewater by modified bentonite: batch, column experiment and mechanism investigation, Chemical Engineering Journal, 2022, 428, 131333, doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.131333

12.    John F. Gallagher, Pavle Mocilac, Pockets and Channels in Tennimide solvate structures: influence of solvent on crystal packing behaviour, Journal of Molecular Structure, 2021, 1234, 130149, doi: 10.1016/j.molstruc.2021.130149

13.    John F. Gallagher, Mark Farrell, Niall Hehir, Pavle Mocilac, Emmanuel Aubert, Enrique Espinosa, Benoit Guillot, Christian Jelsch, At the interface of isomorphous behaviour in a 3x3 isomer grid of mono-chlorobenzamides: Analyses of the interaction landscapes via contact enrichment studies, Crystal Growth & Design, 2019, 19(11) 6141–6158, doi: 10.1021/acs.cgd.9b00505 (IF = 4.153, Cited =2)

14.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, Monohalogenated carbamates where hydrogen bonding rules without halogen bonding: Is there a link between poor carbamate crystal growth and Z'> 1?, CrystEngComm, 2019, 21, 4048-4062, doi:10.1039/c9ce00318e (IF=3.304, Cited = 2)

15.    Pavle Mocilac, Mark Farrell, Alan J. Lough, Christian Jelsch and John F. Gallagher, Aggregation in isomeric imides: analysis of the weak interactions in six N-(benzoyl)-N-(2-pyridyl)benzamides, Structural Chemistry, 29 (4), 2018, 1153-1164, doi:10.1007/s11224-018-1101-9, (IF = 1.624, Cited = 2)

16.    Zbigniew Zawada, Ameneh Tatar, Pavle Mocilac, Miloš Buděšínský, Tomáš Kraus, Transport of Nucleoside Triphosphates into Cells by Artificial Molecular Transporters, Angewandte Chemie Int. Ed., 57 (31), 2018, 9891-9895, doi:10.1002/ange.201801306, (IF = 12.257, Cited: 21), 

17.    Pavle Mocilac, John F. Gallagher, Christian Jelsch, Aggregation in Three Benzamide or Pyridylcarboxamide Hydrates: Formation of 1D Chains Comprising Water Molecules in a Chloro (pyridyl) benzamide Dihydrate, Croat. Chem. Acta, 2018, 91(2), doi:10.5562/cca3347, (IF = 0.731, Cited = 1)

18.    Alyn C. Edwards, Pavle Mocilac, Andreas Geist, Laurence M. Harwood, Clint A. Sharrad, Neil A. Burton, Roger C. Whitehead and Melissa A. Denecke, Hydrophilic 2,9-bis-triazolyl-1,10-phenanthroline ligands enable selective Am(III) separation: a step further towards sustainable nuclear energy, Chemical Communication, 2017, 53, 5001-5004,  doi: 10.1039/c7cc01855j, (IF = 6.290, Cited: 22); 

19.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, Structural systematics and conformational analyses of an isomer grid of nine tolyl-N-pyridinylcarbamates, Structural Chemistry, 2016, 28, 697–708 doi: 10.1007/s11224-016-0851-5;

20.    Pavle Mocilac, Islam Ali Osman and John F Gallagher, Short C-H…F interactions involving the 2,5-difluorobenzene group: Understanding the role of fluorine in aggregation and complex C-F/C-H disorder in a 2 x 6 isomer grid, CrystEngComm, 2016, 18, 5764-5776, doi: 10.1039/c6ce00795c; 

21.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, Halogenated tennimides and trezimides: Impact of halogen bonding and solvent role on porous network formation and inclusion, CrystEngComm,  2016, 18, 2375-2384, doi: 10.1039/c5ce02052b; 

22.    Niall T. Coogan, Michael A. Chimes, James Raftery, Pavle Mocilac* and Melissa A. Denecke, Regioselective Synthesis of V-Shaped Bistriazinyl-phenanthrolines, Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2015, 80(17), 8684-8693, doi: 10.1021/acs.joc.5b01380;

23.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, Two isostructural carbamates: the o-tolyl N-(pyridin-3-yl)carbamate and 2-bromophenyl N-(pyridin-3-yl)carbamate monohydrates, Acta Crystallographica Section E, 2015, E71 (11), 1366-1370, doi: 10.1107/s2056989015019556; 

24.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, Halogen bonding in Bromo-substituted Trezimides and Tennimides, CrystEngComm,  2014, 16(10), 1893-1903, doi: 10.1039/c3ce42168f;

25.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, The First Phenyl-N-pyridinylcarbamate structures: Structural and Conformational Analyses of nine Methoxyphenyl-N-pyridinylcarbamates, Crystal Growth & Design, 2013, 13(12), 5295–5304, doi: 10.1021/cg4010888; 

26.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, Trezimides and Tennimides: New Imide-Based Macrocycles, Journal of Organic Chemistry, 2013, 78(6), 2355-2361, doi: 10.1021/jo302448h; 

27.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, Entry point into new trimeric and tetrameric imide-based macrocyclic esters derived from isophthaloyl dichloride and methyl 6-aminonicotinate, Acta Crystallographica Section B, 2013, B69, 62–69, doi: 10.1107/s2052519212047410;

28.    Pavle Mocilac, Katie Donnelly and John F. Gallagher, Structural systematics studies and conformational analyses of an isomer grid of nine fluoro-N-(pyridyl) benzamides; comparison of physico-chemical properties between four isomer grids (including thermal behaviour), Acta Crystallographica Section B, 2012, B68, 189-203, doi: 10.1107/S0108768112006799;

29.    Pavle Mocilac and John F. Gallagher, Structural systematics and conformational analyses of a 3 × 3 isomer grid of nine N-(tolyl)pyridinecarboxamides and three chlorinated relatives, CrystEngComm, 2011, 13(17), 5354-5366, doi: 10.1039/c1ce05169e; 

30.    Pavle Mocilac, Alan J. Lough and John F. Gallagher, Structures and conformational analysis of a 3 × 3 isomer grid of nine N-(fluorophenyl) pyridinecarboxamides, CrystEngComm, 2011, 13(6), 1899-1909, doi: 10.1039/c0ce00326c; 

31.    Pavle Mocilac, Mark Tallon, Alan J. Lough and John F. Gallagher, Synthesis, structural and conformational analysis of a 3 × 3 isomer grid based on nine methyl-N-(pyridyl)benzamides, CrystEngComm, 2010, 12(10), 3080-3090, doi: 10.1039/c002986f;