Researchers work on sustainable solutions for heating oil boilers

22-Mar-2023

The question of heating is becoming increasingly important in times of scarce resources and of global warming. Are oil heating systems still future-proof? Moreover, if so, can they be operated with efficient, sustainable fuels? Researchers are striving to make heating with oil more sustainable as ...

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A special catalyst enables a “dream reaction”

20-Mar-2023

Menthol and cannabinoids are important for the chemical industry. A team led by Prof. Benjamin List has now found a new way to synthesize both substances - cheaper and more efficient than before. Our toothpaste contains it, you can find it in cold remedies, and it makes our chewing gum tasty: ...

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This might be helpful to tackle synthesis problems

23-Feb-2023

Vladimir Vasilyevich Markovnikov was a 19th century Russian chemist who worked at the universities of St. Petersburg, Odessa and Moscow, among others. The so-called Markovnikov rule, well known already with young students of chemistry, is named after him. This rule says that when protic acids are ...

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Accurately predict - without the need for quantum chemical computations

07-Feb-2023

Researchers used a chemical synthesis robot and computationally cost effective A.I. model to successfully predict and validate highly selective catalysts. Artificial intelligence (A.I.) has made headlines recently with the advent of ChatGPT's language processing capabilities. Creating a similarly ...

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Researchers find a new way to make use of Photoredox Catalysis

27-Jan-2023

Scientists of the department of Homogeneous Catalysis have found a new elegant way to make use of photoredox catalysis. Researchers of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung have expanded the molecular toolbox for efficient, targeted syntheses: To do so, they use a very special catalyst - ...

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According to a journal, Josep Cornellà is now one of ten “scientists to watch”

05-Oct-2022

The American journal “Science news” awards ten young scientists each year as “scientists to watch”. Josep Cornellà, group leader at the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, is now one of them. For about one century the American magazine "Science News" has been reporting on current ...

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Research project will develop new environmentally friendly methods for manufacturing active pharmaceutical ingredients using mechanochemistry as a disruptive technology

29-Sep-2022

Flour, coffee or spices: Many people know the principle of a mill from the kitchen. But special mills are also used for research purposes in the laboratories of the Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung. The scientists are convinced that mechanochemistry can make the chemical industry more ...

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Synthesis of phenols with nitrous oxide

10-May-2022

The emission of various greenhouse gases threatens the global environment, and scientists around the world are increasingly involved and committed to address this issue. While many research groups focus on carbon dioxide (C02) or methane (CH4) revalorization strategies, a team led by Dr. Josep ...

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Particular interest to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries

09-May-2022

Organocatalysis not only provides an imaginable alternative to classical catalytic processes, but is even more efficient in many cases - and thus of particular interest to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. More than 20 years ago, Ben List and his Scottish colleague David MacMillan found ...

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New method enables simple tritium labeling and could provide added value to the discovery and development of pharmaceuticals

20-Dec-2021

Tritium 3H, a radioactive isotope of hydrogen, is commonly used in medicinal chemistry as a label to follow the course of a drug in the human body. Chemists like to use the technique to evaluate drug candidates and their metabolism. However, synthesis of the radiolabeled molecules is ...

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