Cheap metals can be used to make products from petroleum
The process is described online in the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Pharmaceuticals, electronic components, plastics and fuels are just some of the goods based on petroleum, a hydrocarbon molecule. But to use petroleum, the chemical bonds between its hydrogen and carbon atoms must first be broken so that other elements can be added. Breaking those bonds -- other than by burning -- is a challenge to chemists.
"These carbon-hydrogen bonds are inert, and a catalyst is required to facilitate the chemical reactions that cause the bonds to break," says Neal Mankad,
UIC assistant professor of chemistry, who developed the process with his graduate student Thomas Mazzacano. Most catalysts used currently are scarce and expensive "noble" metals, such as platinum, palladium and iridium. They are also toxic, and difficult to completely remove from pharmaceuticals and other products for human consumption.
"These metals are used for one reason -- because they work really well, and there are few alternatives," Mankad said. "Finding safer and cheaper substitutes for these noble-metal catalysts is a major goal of modern chemistry."
Mankad has developed a way to use copper and iron together to replace the extremely rare metal catalyst iridium, which is used in a chemical process called borylation. Adding a boron atom to carbon is the first step in the synthesis of many products, from chemotherapy drugs to adhesives and polymers.
"Iridium is literally the least abundant element on the periodic table," Mankad said. "In fact, much of it comes from meteorites."
In the borylation reaction, iridium takes the two electrons that form the carbon-hydrogen bond and donates them to a boron atom to bind it to the carbon. In Mankad's process, copper and iron each react with one electron, and together transfer the two electrons from a carbon-hydrogen bond to form the carbon-boron bond.
"Base metals were never considered for these two-electron reactions like borylation," said Mankad. "Copper and iron, which are pretty cheap and abundant, when placed very close together, are able to take care of two-electron reactions, just like iridium."
Mankad thinks his base-metal catalysis technique can be applied to other reactions that transform organic material into useful end-products. His group is pursuing such applications and is working to make their strategy more practical to compete with traditional, noble-metal chemistry.
"Using copper and iron for catalyzing these reactions that are necessary for making so many of the things we rely on every day will benefit the environment and help bring costs down," said Mankad. "Copper and iron are abundant and cheap, and don't have to be so completely purified out of end products, unlike the noble metals, because they are less toxic."
Other news from the department science
These products might interest you
Eclipse by Wyatt Technology
FFF-MALS system for separation and characterization of macromolecules and nanoparticles
The latest and most innovative FFF system designed for highest usability, robustness and data quality
Spinsolve Benchtop NMR by Magritek
Spinsolve Benchtop NMR
Spinsolve is a revolutionary multinuclear NMR spectrometer that provides the best performance
HYPERION II by Bruker
FT-IR and IR laser imaging (QCL) microscope for research and development
Analyze macroscopic samples with microscopic resolution (5 µm) in seconds
Get the chemical industry in your inbox
From now on, don't miss a thing: Our newsletter for the chemical industry, analytics, lab technology and process engineering brings you up to date every Tuesday and Thursday. The latest industry news, product highlights and innovations - compact and easy to understand in your inbox. Researched by us so you don't have to.