In 2016, Burés produced a new simple graphical method to elucidate the order in catalyst, where a normalized time scale t[cat]Tn was shown to be able to adjust entire reaction profiles constructed with concentration data.[10] The research further showed that compared to methods that used rates, the proposed method is faster, simple, requires fewer experiments and minimizes effects of experimental errors.[11] This method is generally known as Variable Time Normalization Analysis.[12][13]
In 2012, Burés, Blackmond and Armstrong led a mechanistic study on conjugate addition of aldehydes to nitro-olefins and the α-chlorination of aldehydes catalyzed by diarylprolinol ether which was able to show that the stereochemical outcome of products of both of these reactions is not determined by the transition state of the step in which the stereogenic center is formed but rather is correlated with the relative stability and reactivity of diastereomeric intermediates downstream in the catalytic cycle. This hence provided evidence to suggest that this concept may represent a general phenomenon for pyrrolidine-based catalysts lacking an acidic directing proton.[14][15]
