Mar 4, 2024

Embracing complexity in renewable resources: A molecular approach to circular economy

Date: March 4, 2024 | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Speaker: Katalin Barta, University of Graz
Location: Office Bldg West / Ground floor / Heinzel Seminar Room (I21.EG.101)
Language: English

Our modern society faces daunting sustainability challenges, some of which – especially those related to resources and pollution –can only be tackled by fundamental research in chemical and molecular sciences. Our research program in sustainable catalysis addresses the development of new chemo-catalytic strategies that enable the integration of sustainable carbonaceous raw materials into the circular economy.¹ This includes mild/catalytic depolymerization of lignocellulosic biomass², and the development of direct ‘waste-free’ pathways to access a variety of products³, such as N-heterocycles, dopamine derivatives⁴, polymer building blocks and even a molecular motor. In contrast to conventional, high-temperature approaches, which target simple bulk chemicals, our research philosophy embraces the inherent structural complexity of natural biopolymers to create a richer and ‘greener’ chemical space, based on renewable resources. ¹

1 Science, 2024, accepted

2 Nat. Rev Chem, 2020, 4, 311.

3 Nat. Catal, 2018, 1, 82.

4 Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 63, e2023081