Catalysis/Sustainability and Applied Inorganics

Catalysis is the key to both life and lifestyle. Just as enzymes catalyse many chemical reactions in our body, catalysts are at the heart of approximately 80 % of all the processes in the petrochemical industry.

Everyday products such as fuel, washing powder or shopping bags are made through the use of catalysts and from mainly one carbon resource: oil. With oil reserves going down and market prices going up, alternative feedstocks will be required to secure our future lifestyle. Natural gas, with its main component methane, could become an alternative raw material, as gas reserves are much larger than oil reserves. Even more attractive would be the use of a renewable source such as carbon dioxide, which could ultimately lead to a more sustainable situation in our carbon management. The economic viability of these alternative resources will largely depend on the development of efficient catalysts.

Martínez-Ferraté O, Britovsek GJP, Claver C, et al., 2015, C–H benzylic oxidation promoted by dinuclear iron DBDOC iminopyridine complexes, Inorganica Chimica Acta, ISSN:0020-1693 Grau M, Rigodanza F, White AJP, et al., 2014, Ligand tuning of single-site manganese-based catalytic antioxidants with dual superoxide dismutase and catalase activity, Chemical Communications, Vol:50, ISSN:1359-7345, Pages:4607-4609 Petersen AR, Taylor RA, Vicente-Hernandez I, et al., 2014, Light-Driven Methyl Exchange Reactions in Square-Planar Palladium(II) and Platinum(II) Complexes, Organometallics, Vol:33, ISSN:0276-7333, Pages:1453-1461 McGuinness DS, Chan B, Britovsek GJP, et al., 2014, Ethylene Trimerisation with Cr-PNP Catalysts: A Theoretical Benchmarking Study and Assessment of Catalyst Oxidation State, Australian Journal of Chemistry, Vol:67, ISSN:0004-9425, Pages:1481-1490

Petersen AR, Taylor RA, Vicente-Hernandez I, et al., 2014, Oxygen Insertion into Metal Carbon Bonds: Formation of Methylperoxo Pd(II) and Pt(II) Complexes via Photogenerated Dinuclear Intermediates, Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol:136, ISSN:0002-7863, Pages:14089-14099