Researchers overcome computational limitations to predict the starting materials of multi-step reactions using only information about the target product molecule

27-Apr-2022

Have you ever only caught the end of a TV show and wondered how the story progressed to that ending? In a similar way, chemists often have a desired molecule in mind and wonder what kind of reaction could produce it. Researchers in the Maeda Group at the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and ...

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Researchers aim to streamline the time- and resource-intensive process of screening ligands during catalyst design by using virtual ligands

16-Mar-2022

Researchers at the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery and Hokkaido University have developed a virtual ligand-assisted (VLA) screening method, which could drastically reduce the amount of trial and error required in the lab during transition metal catalyst development. The ...

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Work marks an especially large breakthrough, since CO₂ is used to carry out a traditionally difficult type of transformation with unprecedented efficiency

24-Feb-2022

Using electricity, a new method offers the possibility of recycling CO2 while also performing a notoriously difficult reaction, producing compounds potentially useful for drug development. Scientists at the Institute for Chemical Reaction Design and Discovery (ICReDD) in Hokkaido University have ...

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Innovative catalyst for the synthesis of propylene has potential benefits for the chemical industry and carbon recycling

08-Feb-2022

Propylene is a colourless, flammable hydrocarbon gas that is an important raw material for the production of a variety of petrochemicals. Due to increasing demand and limited global supply, there is a strong need to develop new, efficient technologies for its production. Researchers at Hokkaido ...

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A new catalyst design enables unprecedented control over the modification of fatty acid derivatives that opens the door to creating useful substances in a green and efficient manner

25-Aug-2020

Hokkaido University WPI-ICReDD researchers developed a modular catalyst that can accurately modify fatty acid derivatives in a hitherto inaccessible position. This enables the efficient production of valuable compounds from a renewable bioresource, whereas before we had to either rely on ...

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A computer predicts the feasibility of synthesizing target compounds and their chemical yields

11-Jun-2020

Hokkaido University scientists have succeeded in synthesizing an α,α-difluoroglycine derivative, a type of α-amino acid, based on a reaction path predicted by quantum chemical calculations. This novel method, combining experimental chemistry and computational chemistry, could innovate the ...

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28-Feb-2020

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for inexpensive and less energy-intensive gas separation even in the presence of impurities such as water. Experimental analyses of the performance of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) for the separation of propane and propene under real-world ...

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23-Dec-2019

Researchers have shown mechanical force can start chemical reactions, making them cheaper, more broadly applicable, and more environmentally friendly than conventional methods. Chemical reactions are most conventionally prompted by heating up the reaction mixtures. Within the last ten years, ...

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06-Dec-2019

A new material that stiffens 1,800-fold when exposed to heat could protect motorcyclists and racecar drivers during accidents. Hokkaido University researchers have developed a hydrogel that does the opposite of what polymer-based materials, like plastic bottles, normally do: their material ...

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13-Feb-2019

Adding olefin enables efficient solvent-free cross-coupling reactions, leading to environmentally friendly syntheses of a wide range of organic materials. A cross coupling reaction is typically performed in an organic solvent and leads to the production of a large amount of solvent waste, which ...

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