Clean catalysis for sustainable development

一个可持续发展的社会需要有效利用能源和可再生物质。因此，需要有选择性的新方法来制备先进材料。在这种背景下，基于化石储备的资源正在迅速枯竭，有两个要求：第一，从传统的化学计量、高能量、产生大量化学废物的方法转变为温和、清洁的催化过程；二是化工生产发生重大变化，可再生资源取代化石燃料作为化工启动装置。EaStCHEM催化研究的长期目标和愿景，特别是这个临界质量提案，是开发从可再生资源中获得有用化学品的全催化途径。我们将提供一个研究环境，既改善和扩大在化学和制药工业中使用的催化过程的范围。为此，我们将利用可再生和替代原料，包括二氧化碳、木质纤维素和其他原料，这些原料是农业和木材加工产生的数百万吨规模的废物。这种改变我们获取基本化学物质的方式的提议需要新一代催化剂。挑战甚至更大，因为可再生底物不仅难以激活（二氧化碳，木质素），而且通常不是作为纯底物，而是作为非常多样化的原油混合物的组分（例如塔尔油中的油酸甲酯）。因此，需要一种既具有高活性又具有选择性和底物相容性的新型催化剂。只有通过发展新的科学和技术工具，才能实现所需的选择性，从而实现高原子经济性、效率和环境因素。为了实现这一具有挑战性的目标，现有的催化剂必须进行重大改进，并且必须为尚未催化的反应设计新的催化剂。由于我们相信均相催化剂提供了前所未有的活性和高选择性的独特组合，因此，在这一关键质量项目中，结合东方化学在均相催化方面的优势，通过改变可再生原料的全催化转化，开发可持续的生产方法是及时的。转变为一个依赖全可再生资源生产化学产品的社会是一个巨大的挑战，这一变化的路线图必须被分解成更小的部分，由合适的专家来解决可实现的目标。在本提案中，我们评估了EaStCHEM在催化方面的优势，并设计了各种风险水平的项目，这些项目将对“从石油到生物质”这一具有挑战性的转变所必需的整体变革产生重大影响。我们将：1；在化学过程中，利用二氧化碳作为丰富的C1构建块，利用新开发的最先进的催化转化，用于碳氢活化/羧化，聚合物形成以及电和化学还原过程。2. 我们将在木质素的“真实生活样品”中开发最佳的醚裂解催化剂，以最大限度地发挥木质素纤维素作为燃料和精细化学品来源的潜力。通过结合我们在配体设计和计算方法方面的专业知识，我们将开发基于n -杂环碳烯、宽咬角磷化氢、氧化酶和化学催化剂的高效催化剂。我们将开发新的催化方法，将可再生和废弃原料转化为燃料、化学品和聚合物等重要产品。正如我们预期的那样，这一联合努力将包括新催化剂的从头开发，我们还将创建一个配体和催化剂合成和发现中心，该中心将在整个项目期间及之后支持所有工作包的催化剂开发过程。通过集中我们在催化方面的经验和技能，我们将为后化石燃料世界做出贡献。

A sustainable society requires the efficient use of energy and renewable matter. It consequently demands selective new methodologies for the preparation of advanced materials. In this context and as resources based on fossil reserves are rapidly depleting, there are two requirements: first, a change from traditional stoichiometric, high energy methods that produce huge amounts of chemical waste to mild and clean catalytic processes; second, a major step change in chemicals production with fossil fuels being replaced by renewable resources as chemical starter units.The long term aim and vision of catalysis research at EaStCHEM and of this Critical Mass proposal in particular is to develop all-catalytic routes to useful chemicals from renewable resources. We will provide a research environment that both improves and expands the wide range of catalytic processes used in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. To do this we will exploit renewable and alternative feedstocks including CO2, lignocellulose and other feedstocks formed on multimillion tonnes scale as waste products from agriculture and wood processing.This proposed change in how we access our essential chemicals requires a new generation of catalysts. The challenge is even larger because the renewable substrates are not only difficult to activate (CO2, lignin) but are often available not as pure substrates but as components of a very diverse crude mixtures (e.g. methyl oleate in tall oil). Therefore, novel robust catalysts are required which are capable of combining high activity with superb selectivity and substrate compatibility. The required selectivity resulting in high atom economy, efficiency and environmental factor will only be feasible through the development of new scientific and technological tools. To achieve this challenging objective, existing catalysts must undergo major improvements and new catalysts must be designed for as yet uncatalyzed reactions. As we believe homogenous catalysts offer the unique combination of unprecedented activities and high selectivity, it is timely to combine EaStCHEM's strengths in homogeneous catalysis in this critical mass program to develop sustainable production methods by changing to all-catalytic conversions of renewable feedstocks. The switch to a society which relies on chemical production from all-renewable resources is a challenge of GRAND proportions, and a roadmap for this change must be broken down into smaller components with suitable experts addressing achievable goals. In this proposal we have assessed the strengths in catalysis across EaStCHEM and have designed projects at a variety of risk levels that will significantly impact on the overall change necessary in the challenging move "from oil to biomass". We will: 1. use CO2 as an ever abundant C1 building block in chemical processes that exploit newly developed state-of-the-art catalytic transformations for C-H activation/carboxylation, polymer formation, as well as electro- and chemical reduction processes. 2. We will develop optimal catalysts for ether cleavage in 'real life samples' of lignin for maximising the potential of lignocellulose as a source of fuels and fine chemicals. By combining our expertise in ligand design and computational methods we will develop efficient catalyst based on N-heterocyclic carbenes, wide bite angle phosphines and oxidative enzymes and chemocatalysts.3. We will develop novel catalytic methods to convert renewable and waste feedstocks to important products such as fuels, chemicals and polymers.As we anticipate that this combined effort will include the de-novo development of new catalyst we will also create a ligand and catalyst synthesis and discovery centre which will support the catalyst development process of all the workpackages for the full duration of the project and thereafter. By focusing our experience and skills in catalysis, we will contribute to a post-fossil fuels world.