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Funding for chemical catalysis research
The European Research Council (ERC) is funding Prof. Dr. Burkhard König's INSIGHT project with an ERC Synergy Grant. The project on chemical catalysis is a collaboration between Burkhard König (synthetic chemist, University of Regensburg), Prof. Dr. Jana Roithová (analytical chemist, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands) and Prof. Dr. Markus Reiher (theoretical chemist, ETH Zurich) and is coordinated as a joint project by the University of Regensburg.
Synergy Grants are the highest level of funding awarded by the European Research Council (ERC). They can amount to a maximum of €14 million over a period of six years.
“The funding provided by the ERC Synergy Grant is a great endorsement of the international appeal of research at the University of Regensburg. It shows the contribution that top-level research can make to solving global challenges,” said University President Prof. Dr. Udo Hebel.
The growing world population is putting immense pressure on ecosystems due to the increasing demand for natural resources. Chemical catalysis is the most important tool for utilizing these resources, and advances over the last century have made these processes increasingly sustainable.
The catalysts required for this accelerate chemical reactions without being consumed themselves. This makes the reactions faster, more energy-efficient, and often more environmentally friendly. But there is still room for improvement.
Prof. König explains: “Catalysis offers great potential to meet the urgent need for efficient and sustainable resource conversion. However, current methods of discovery and optimization are too slow to keep pace with global demands.”
The INSIGHT project aims to significantly accelerate this process. To this end, the researchers are developing a workflow that will enable new knowledge in the field of catalysis to be gained more quickly. Building on their discovery of adaptive dynamic catalysis—a process in which the physical state of a metal ion is kept stable in its active form with the help of external stimuli such as light or electrons—they want to combine this method with mass spectrometry monitoring.
This will enable scientists to investigate a large number of parameter permutations, identify successful reactions, and collect kinetic data that can be incorporated into theoretical models and provide deep insights into catalytic systems.
Prof. Roithová explains: "By analyzing complex reaction mixtures developed by Prof. König and simultaneously investigating all possible reaction pathways, we will generate a large amount of data for kinetic and theoretical modeling. Prof. Reiher will then use this data to train lifelong machine learning potentials that accurately map the entire reaction network. With this approach, we want to change the way new chemical reactions are investigated and developed."
“The results can be directly applied in all areas of chemical research and development and enable new chemical reactions, such as the activation of stable chemical carbon-carbon and carbon-oxygen atomic bonds,” says Prof. König.
Prof. Dr. Burkhard König
Institut für Organische Chemie
Universität Regensburg
Tel:+49 941 943-4575
Mail: Burkhard.Koenig@chemie.uni-regensburg.de
https://www.uni-regensburg.de/chemie-pharmazie/organische-chemie-koenig/startsei...
Prof. Dr. Burkhard König
Source: Julia Drahan / UR
Chemical photocatalysis on a laboratory scale
Source: Julia Drahan / UR
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Chemistry
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Prof. Dr. Burkhard König
Source: Julia Drahan / UR
Chemical photocatalysis on a laboratory scale
Source: Julia Drahan / UR
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