Homogeneous hydrocarbon oxidation using nitrous oxide as a sustainable feedstock

Project Title:
Homogeneous oxidation reactions using nitrous oxide as a sustainable feedstock

Project Summary:
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas, with a half-life of 114 years in the atmosphere and global warming potential 300 times greater than carbon dioxide, and the dominant ozone depleting substance emitted in the 21st century. As an abundant and sustainable resource, the use of N2O as an oxidant in chemical manufacture is an attractive prospect, liberating environmentally benign dinitrogen N2, but encumbered by the robust triatomic formulation of this gas. Whilst application of heterogenous catalysts under extreme conditions does permit reactions with N2O to be performed, such systems are energy intensive, unselective and ultimately not commercially viable.

This project will seek to establish the science underpinning the activation of N2O by homogeneous transition-metal complexes with the ultimate objective of translating these findings into impactful catalytic applications. Using mid and late transition metal group complexes, we will explore the prospect for generating reactive terminal oxo derivates and evaluate the efficiency of oxygen atom insertion reactions, respectively. A synergetic combination of experimental (Chaplin) and computational (Krämer) approaches will be employed to establish the underlying structure-property and structure-activity relationships. These findings will be harnessed to propel subsequent catalyst design, with the most promising leads rigorously examined experimentally.