CAS-Climate: Supramolecular and Dynamic Covalent Chemistry of Carbon Dioxide

在化学系大分子、超分子和纳米化学项目的支持下，休斯敦大学（德克萨斯州）的Ognjen Miljanic教授将研究捕获二氧化碳的方法，二氧化碳是当前气候变化关注的核心气体。防止气候变化的最坏影响既需要减少二氧化碳排放，也需要捕获和清除大气中已经存在的一些二氧化碳。Miljanic教授和他的团队的目标是开发一种化学物质，能够从各种来源（从工业烟气到空气本身）可逆地捕获二氧化碳。在这项研究工作中，学生将从不同背景的休斯顿大都会地区招募，并接受有机和超分子化学跨学科联系的培训，并对环境和气候的更广泛问题有清晰的认识。Miljanic教授将教授一门关于能源和可持续发展的课程，并在主流媒体上撰写观点文章，旨在将环境问题背后的科学和解决方案带给广大公众。这个项目的总体目标——确定能够捕获大浓度范围内二氧化碳的分子——将通过三个独立但相互关联的研究努力来完成。首先，被称为环四苯zoins的分子（由Miljanic教授于2015年首创）将用于将二氧化碳分子包含在其方形内腔中。在这个空腔中，二氧化碳分子将通过与环四苯甲醚大环的四个苯壁的等距[π···π]相互作用而稳定下来。其次，动态组合化学将用于识别在可逆反应中通过动态扩增这些物种来强烈结合二氧化碳的分子物种。最后，碳氧双键本身是潜在的动态，它们的可逆活化/失活将用于开发一种前所未有的二氧化碳封存新方法。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With the support of the Macromolecular, Supramolecular and Nanochemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Ognjen Miljanic of the University of Houston (Texas) will be studying methods to capture carbon dioxide, the gas at the center of current concerns about climate change. Preventing the worst effects of climate changes will require both reducing carbon dioxide emissions and capturing and removing some of the carbon dioxide already present in the atmosphere. Professor Miljanic and his team aim to develop chemicals capable of reversibly trapping carbon dioxide from various sources—from industrial flue gases to air itself. During this research effort, students will be recruited from diverse backgrounds reflective of the Houston metropolitan area and trained at the interdisciplinary nexus of organic and supramolecular chemistry with a clear awareness of the broader problems of environment and climate. Prof. Miljanic will teach a class on Energy and Sustainability and write opinion pieces in mainstream media aiming to bring the science behind environmental problems and solutions closer to the broad public audience. The overall objective of this project—to identify molecule capable of capturing carbon dioxide within a broad concentration range—will be accomplished through three separate but interrelated research efforts. First, molecules known as cyclotetrabenzoins (pioneered by Prof. Miljanic in 2015) will be used to include the carbon dioxide molecule within their square-shaped internal cavities. In this cavity, a molecule of carbon dioxide will be stabilized by the equidistant [pi···pi] interactions with the four benzene walls of the cyclotetrabenzoin macrocycle. Second, dynamic combinatorial chemistry will be used to identify molecular species that bind carbon dioxide strongly through the dynamic amplification of such species during reversible reactions. Finally, the carbon–oxygen double bonds are potentially dynamic themselves and their reversible activation/deactivation will be used to develop an unprecedented new way of sequestering carbon dioxide.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.