Isolating an elusive missing link

Scientists have, for the first time, isolated and fully characterised an elusive intermediate in the Water Oxidation Reaction

04-Jun-2021 - The Water Oxidation Reaction (WOR) is one of the most important reactions on the planet since it is the source of nearly all the atmosphere's oxygen. Understanding its intricacies can hold the key to improve the efficiency of the reaction. Unfortunately, the reaction's mechanisms are complex and ...

The expanding possibilities of bio-based polymers

Researchers present a new route to prepare biobased polyesters with tuneable properties

04-Mar-2021 - Finding innovative and sustainable solutions to our material needs is one of the core objectives of green chemistry. The myriad plastics that envelop our daily life - from mattresses to food and cars - are mostly made from oil-based monomers which are the building blocks of polymers. Therefore, ...

Cascades with carbon dioxide

Novel catalytic process for converting CO2 into valuable chemical intermediates in the form of cyclic carbonates

10-Sep-2020 - Carbon dioxide (CO2) is not just an undesirable greenhouse gas, it is also an interesting source of raw materials that are valuable and can be recycled sustainably. In the journal Angewandte Chemie, Spanish researchers have now introduced a novel catalytic process for convertingCO2 into valuable ...

Taming defective porous materials for robust and selective heterogeneous catalysis

09-May-2019 - The production of 1-butene via ethylene dimerization is one of the few industrial processes that employs homogeneous catalysis due to their high selectivity--despite the massive amounts of activators and solvents required. Now, a new paper by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), in ...

Nickel: A greener route to fatty acids

05-May-2017 - Chemists designed a nickel catalyst that easily transforms petroleum feedstocks into valuable compounds like fatty acids. The process is environmentally friendly: not only it works at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, but also recycles carbon dioxide, contributing to the fight against ...

New reaction for the synthesis of nanostructures

21-Jul-2016 - The collaboration between the research groups of professors Pau Ballester and José R. Galan-Mascaros at the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ), Dr. Jonas Björk at Linköping University and the group of Dr. David Ecija at Institute IMDEA Nanoscience has allowed the development of a ...