Finding a More Sustainable Future

Associate Professor Alex John from the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has acquired an NSF grant that will fund research to find sustainable ways to turn biomass (from agricultural waste) into platform chemicals that can be used to produce pharmaceuticals and other useful products. Such platform chemicals are currently derived from petroleum. The goal is to find better catalysts for the greener alternative and to make it economically feasible.
John’s lab is using metal catalysts to remove two adjacent OH (i.e., hydroxyl) groups from an organic substrate, and replace them with a carbon-carbon double bond. A variety of organic functional groups can be made from carbon-carbon double bonds.
“Deoxydehydration (DODH) allows us to remove oxygen from plant-based molecules so we can get chemicals that are more petro-chemical like,” John said.
Sophomore Lucy Alexandre said, “We use a modular catalyst to drive the reaction, namely a molybdenum dioxo species supported by a salan ligand and modify substituents to determine their effects. I hope to create a more effective catalyst or demonstrate the limits of these substituent effects.”
John’s lab has already achieved some promising results. Research conducted by one of his graduate students discovered a molybdenum catalyst with a turnover number (TON) of 42. That means it can cycle 42 times before becoming inactivated. That is a record number for homogeneous molybdenum catalyzed deoxydehydration, as of this writing.
John also shared that from tartaric acid, a plant-based molecule, it’s possible to produce dimethyl fumarate in only two steps. Dimethyl fumarate is a pharmaceutical used for treating MS and psoriasis.
They’ve made a library of compounds and they know which work better than others, now they want to understand why. John said, “There could be 10 steps in the catalytic process that converts the reactant into the desired product. We want to understand which step is benefiting from that particular ligand.” This understanding will help them create better catalysts.
Senior Jonathan Wagner said, “Our method of probing ligand effects is not very common in catalysis. It’s exciting to see my work has a role in advancing the scientific community. I never thought I’d be working on a project that could tackle world issues like pollution. It motivates me to work harder in the lab and allows me to connect my work with a real-world problem.”
Alexandre said, “I really love the independent and cutting-edge nature of research. I gained concrete skills like preparation, running and analysis of NMR spectra, glove box operation, reaction planning and execution, and separation techniques. I’ve gained teaching experience by training others, project management experience, scientific writing and presentation skills. Basically, everything about the experience supports my goal of becoming a chemistry professor.”
Senior Jasper Dang plans to pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry and continue research focused on sustainability. “This research captivates me because its overarching goal is to contribute to a more sustainable future, aligning with my passion for environmental stewardship and my desire to make a meaningful impact through science.”