Reaction Chemistry & Engineering Blog

Ulrich Hintermair studied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in Würzburg and Lyon, finishing with a Master project at the University of St Andrews. After a PhD on continuous-flow catalysis using supercritical fluids with Walter Leitner at Aachen, he was a Humboldt fellow with Bob Crabtree at Yale University. In 2013, he started his independent career at the CSCT in Bath where he currently holds a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. Besides fundamental coordination chemistry and organometallic synthesis, he is most interested in finding out how catalytic reactions work, for which his team uses a combination of online and in-situ analytical techniques (see https://www.bath.ac.uk/research-facilities/dynamic-reaction-monitoring-facility/).

Read his Emerging Investigator article “Engineering Aspects of FlowNMR Spectroscopy Setups for Online Analysis of Solution-Phase Processes” and read more about him in the interview below:

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I’m convinced that there are many exciting opportunities for “real life” analytics in a number of areas if one moves away from the old adapt-your-sample-to-the-analysis doctrine and starts modifying instruments to suit the application in question. A challenge in doing this is to assemble a team that includes instrument manufacturers that are open to the idea, but you’d be surprised what is possible if you find the right people.

Keep up to date with Ulrich and his research by finding him on Twitter (@HintermairLab & @DreamFacility)

Elizabeth J. Biddinger is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at The City College of New York, CUNY. Her research group focuses on green chemistry and energy applications including the electrification of chemical processes that transform wastes or renewable resources into valuable materials, chemicals or fuels for decarbonization and sustainability; and the use of ionic liquids as electrolytes in electrochemical systems for improved performance and safety. Prior to joining City College in 2012, she was a post-doctoral fellow at Georgia Institute of Technology. Professor Biddinger received her PhD in chemical engineering in 2010 from The Ohio State University and her B.S. in chemical engineering in 2005 from Ohio University.

Read her Emerging Investigator article “Kinetics of furfural electrochemical hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis in acidic media on copper” and read more about her in the interview below:

How do you feel about Reaction Chemistry & Engineering as a place to publish?

Our paper was on determining the mechanism and kinetics of the electrochemical hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis of biomass-derived furfural to furfuryl alcohol and 2-methyl furan on copper in acidic electrolytes. Reaction Chemistry & Engineering was a great fit for this paper because we used traditional catalytic and reaction engineering methods to look at an electrochemical reaction. The topic fit the journal well and the readership will appreciate the techniques that we used. We hope that the readership agrees with us too!

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I’m excited right now about all of the opportunities that exist to decarbonize and make more sustainable chemical manufacturing using electrochemical techniques. We are currently at a crossroads as a society with what to do about our CO2 emissions and our resource utilization. In other sectors such as transportation we are much further along in what solutions look like than where we are in chemical manufacturing. We have an opportunity to completely re-think how we make chemicals and fuels. The utilization of renewable electricity to power chemical processes such as electrochemical reactors is one such way that we can produce chemicals and fuels for the next era. To push the vision of decarbonizing chemical manufacturing forward, I am excited to be Deputy Director of the Center for Decarbonizing Chemical Manufacturing Using Sustainable Electrification (DC-MUSE) that has just formed. The biggest challenge to this vision is that we’ve been making chemicals and fuels the same way for more than a century. That’s a lot of inertia that we have to go against to make such a drastic change. Ultimately, I think the pressure to address CO2 emissions and sustainability will become enabling to new technologies.

Where does my research fit in with all of this specifically? My group focuses on the electrochemical reactions. We have to understand the behaviour of the electrochemical reactions to be able to design the reactors and implement them at scale. The fundamental knowledge we develop will be applied by others in implementation. The biggest challenge in our own research is making sure the tools we utilize will allow us to answer the questions about mechanisms, kinetics, parameter effects and so on when the reactions are complicated – multiple pathways, side reactions, etc. We’ve taken to methodically evaluating what the nuances of the reactions we are studying are and then are able to better control them to probe our specific questions at hand

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Get engaged in your respective professional societies early. Volunteer for positions and activities. By doing this, you will develop your network quickly. It’s so great to be able to reach out to senior members of your field with questions or collaboration ideas and have them know who you are because of your society engagement. Society engagement is also a great place to meet fellow early careers scientists and engineers who may be going through the same things as you, getting started. In the end, it’s all very rewarding.

Keep up to date with Elizabeth and her research by following her on Twitter @EJBiddinger and connect with her on LinkedIn

Dr. Upendra Sharma started his independent research in the fall of 2014, and his group research focus involves transition-metal-catalyzed remote C-H activation/functionalization under thermal/light conditions. His group also works in the area of plant product chemistry. Mainly his group is looking for new antimalarial molecules either through metal-catalyzed modification of quinolines or from natural sources. In 2016, Dr. Sharma got the Thieme Chemistry Journal Award and Manjushree Pal Memorial Award for Best Oral Presentation from Ethanopharmacology Society of India, Kolkata in 2017. Currently, he is an Early Career Advisory Board member in the Asian Journal of Organic Chemistry. Currently, Dr. Sharma is editing an issue in Frontier in Chemistry on the special topic on C-H activation/functionalization. He has published >120 research articles in reputed international journals and filed four patents to date.

Read his Emerging Investigator article “α-Oxygenation of N-Aryl/Alky Heterocyclic Compounds via Ruthenium-Photocatalysis” and read more about him in the interview below:

How do you feel about Reaction Chemistry & Engineering as a place to publish?

It is a great experience to publish in RCE as this journal has a unique scope, and it’s always great to follow this journal as most of the published articles contain in-depth information on respective topics.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

Selective functionalization of C-H bond in complex/natural molecules under photocatalytic conditions is most the exciting and challenging. Undoubtedly, we and others developed various catalytic methods, and the process is continuing, but applying these methods in a complex setup is always challenging.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

Natural processes continuously happening in Mother Nature are complex and inspirational for synthetic chemists. So the central question I always ask is how we can mimic these reactions to synthesize valuable molecules?

Developing photocatalytic conditions for most challenging reactions like functionalization of complex/natural molecules is the major question we wish to address in the next 5-10 years.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Never follow any advice, just follow your inner voice and passion for research.

Keep up to date with Upendra and his research by visiting his group website here.

Dr. Gianvito Vilé is a Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering at Politecnico di Milano, where he heads the Nanocatalysis Lab. He studied Chemical Engineering in Italy and obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering at ETH Zurich with a thesis on the design of catalytic materials and flow reactors for selective hydrogenation. Before joining Politecnico di Milano, he was a Lab Head at Idorsia Pharmaceuticals, where he applied enabling technologies (flow chemistry, high-throughput synthesis, process intensification and single-atom catalysis) to reactions encountered in drug discovery. His group in Milano is designing novel structured catalysts and reactor concepts for the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and for the circular recycling of waste contaminants.

Read his Emerging Investigator article “Surface engineering of a Cu-based heterogeneous catalyst for efficient azide–alkyne click cycloaddition” and read more about his in the interview below:

How do you feel about Reaction Chemistry & Engineering as a place to publish?

RCE is the reference journal to publish research contributions where fundamental molecular chemistry meets chemical engineering and technology. No other journal is so engaged in covering new methodologies, molecular-level understanding of reaction mechanisms, and practical solutions for process development. This is the reason why I regularly choose RCE as the optimal place for my contributions, and I am also happy to act as a regular Reviewer for this journal, contributing to its development.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I am currently working at the interface of single-atom catalysis and flow chemistry. Single-atom catalysis is a rapidly-developing field embracing both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. Over the past few years, I have been fortunate to publish key developments on single-atom catalyst design for hydrogenations and C-C couplings. I am now trying to understand the structure and function of these new materials. I am also exploring unconventional catalytic applications, integrating those catalysts in continuous-flow reactors for sustainable technologies.
The most exciting part of my work is going to the lab every day and remaining at the forefront of science with new (surprising) results. I am also excited about working together with my highly-motivated doctoral and postdoctoral students. The challenging part is encouraging and inspiring these junior researchers to develop their vision for the future. I hope to be a good mentor for them.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

Transforming today’s pharmaceutical and chemical processes, and making them more sustainable without affecting productivity levels, is one of the biggest challenges mankind has ever faced. It means, transforming the way we do almost everything.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

An important piece of career-related advice for early-career scientists is “never set up artificial divisions in science and do not be afraid of taking new paths”. To solve today’s problems, we need an interdisciplinary approach. The best way to develop this is through interactions with engineers, chemists, biologists, material scientists, and industrial specialists. In academia we tend to disregard industrial research, although this has also contributed in the past to important breakthroughs. Young scientists may also think that an unconventional career path in science may be detrimental for future development. I worked in research settings in academia and industry. In both places, I had fantastic (and science-driven) mentors. Both experiences were very transformative for me