| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/L011514/1 |
| Title: |
Homogeneous Catalysts for the Activation and Functionalization of Carbon Oxygen Sigma Bonds in Ethers from Biomass |
| Principal Investigator: |
Crimmin, Dr MR |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Chemistry |
| Organisation: |
Imperial College London |
| Scheme: |
First Grant - Revised 2009 |
| Starts: |
01 February 2014 |
Ends: |
31 January 2015 |
Value (£): |
99,126
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Catalysis & Applied Catalysis |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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24 Jul 2013
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EPSRC Physical Sciences Chemistry - July 2013
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Announced
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
Society faces a monumental challenge in relinquishing its dependence on fossil fuels. While CO2 levels and the price of petroleum continue to rise, molecules from oil continue to dominate the landscape and fuel our chemical industries. As one approach to solving this crisis, many have promoted the concept of "The Biorefinery" and a new chemical sector dependent upon the sustainable natural resource biomass. Biomass is made up of a mixture of polymers which, when compared to petroleum and natural gas, contain a high ratio of elemental oxygen to elemental carbon.
The elemental oxygen and carbon form strong carbon-oxygen bonds which present an obstacle for processing and transforming these chemicals into everyday products. In order for molecules from biorefineries to meet the growing and complex demands of Society, new methods will have to be developed that remove the elemental oxygen from renewable resources by breaking carbon-oxygen bonds.
Our research centers around developing new underpinning methods for the transformation of carbon-oxygen bonds to carbon-carbon and carbon-nitrogen bond by activation with catalysts based on transition and main-group metals. By discovering and exploiting new catalyst systems we will uncover methods for turning ethers from biomass into chemical building blocks for chemical manufacture. Specifically, we will convert ethers into C1- to C9-hydrocarbon building blocks by breaking the unreactive C-O bonds and replacing them with reactive C-B and C-Al bonds. We will demonstrate the use of these building blocks in chemical manufacture.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.imperial.ac.uk |