A cheap, abundant metal—zinc—could replace expensive and toxic elements like platinum and palladium in a chemical reaction that underpins much of modern manufacturing. Catalysis is involved in roughly 85% of chemical manufacturing processes and contributes £50 billion annually to the UK economy, but most catalysts rely on rare, costly, or hazardous metals. Hydrogenation—adding hydrogen to molecules—is essential for making everything from pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals to fuels and polymers, yet controlling which part of a molecule reacts (selectivity) remains difficult. The team has already shown that a simple zinc-based catalyst can perform selective hydrogenation, a breakthrough published in 2023. This project will develop next-generation zinc catalysts, understand how they work at a molecular level, and apply them to both chemoselective and enantioselective hydrogenation. If successful, the work could shift the fine chemicals sector toward cheaper, safer, and more sustainable manufacturing processes, reducing dependence on scarce resources without sacrificing performance.
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Catalysis is an enabling technology that improves our quality of life. Catalysis is involved in around 85% of chemical manufacturing processes and contributes £ 50 billion per year to the UK economy. Catalysis science in the UK is recognised as a national strength. This field is facing several challenges however, not least how to provide for a growing population with increasingly limited resources. Catalytic processes typically rely on expensive, toxic, and limited supply elements such as Rh, Ir, Pd, Pt. Replacing these elements with more sustainable and widely available alternatives is crucial for the future of the catalysis sector. Hydrogenation is a key technology that underpins production of commodity and fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, fuels, and polymers. Controlling selectivity (e.g. chemoselectivity or stereoselectivity) in hydrogenation can be challenging. Our team recently described a breakthrough discovery in selective catalytic hydrogenation using a simple and cost-effective homogeneous catalyst based on zinc (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2023, 145,7667). In this project, we will develop next generation zinc catalysts for selective hydrogenation. We will develop a detailed understanding of mechanism and structure-activity relationships in zinc hydrogenation catalysis, constructing a knowledge base that will inform catalyst design. We will apply the next generation catalysts to the chemoselective hydrogenation of a wide range of functional groups along with the enantioselective hydrogenation of alkenes. Our aim is to develop catalytic technologies that meet the requirements for commercial applications, allowing translation of our discovery from the lab into the UK fine chemicals manufacturing sector.
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