Sustainability in Chemistry
University of Birmingham, UK
7th - 8th of September 2023
Welcome Address
Dear Delegates,
We would like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the University of Birmingham
and to thank you for attending our first Sustainability in Chemistry Symposium. This year
we are celebrating the launch of our MSc Sustainable Chemistry programme and to highlight
the University’s smart vision creating a pathway to a Smart and Net Zero Campus by 2035.
The University has taken steps towards this by ensuring that the Edgbaston campus is filled
with thousands of trees, a botanic garden and schemes to protect wildlife, such as hedgehogs,
and pollinators, such as bees.
We hope you enjoy the excellent line-up of both national and international speakers and
poster presentations, discussing the latest advancements in the field of sustainable chem-
istry. Please do make use of the coffee, lunch, and poster sessions to enjoy networking with
fellow delegates and get the opportunity to explore our beautiful campus and Winterbourne
Gardens.
Yours sincerely,
Prof. Tomislav Friščić
Dr Adam Michalchuk Dr Thomas Auvray
Dr Deborah Crawford Dr Michael Ferguson
ii
Programme - Thursday 7 Sept.
12.00-12.30 Registration
12.30-13.00 Welcome and Opening Remarks
13.00-14.00 Prof. Tom Welton Imperial College London, UK
14.00-14.30 Dr Juliana Vidal Beyond Benign
14.30-15.00 Coffee Break
15.00-15.30 Dr Zoe Schnepp University of Birmingham, UK
15.30-16.00 Early Career Researchers
Dr Fuqiang Chang University of Birmingham, UK
Anton Zorin University of Birmingham, UK
16.00-16.30 Early Career Researchers at the
Academic-Industry Interface
Hannah Logan University of Edinburgh, UK
Dr Lori Gonnet University of Birmingham, UK
16.30-17.30 Prof. Robert Mokaya University of Nottingham, UK
17.30-19.00 Posters and Refreshments
iii
Programme - Friday 8 Sept.
10.00-11.00 Prof. Paul Anderson University of Birmingham, UK
11.00-11.30 Dr Lydia Pickering University of Birmingham, UK
11.30-12.00 Publishing in Sustainability
Taylor & Francis
Royal Society of Chemistry
12.00-13.00 Lunch
13.00-13.30 Prof. James Batteas Texas A&M University, USA
13.30-14.00 Dr Andrea Laybourn University of Nottingham, UK
14.00-14.45 Early Career Researchers
Dr Javier Castells-Gil University of Birmingham, UK
Dr Laura English University of Birmingham, UK
Dr Thomas Auvray University of Birmingham, UK
14.45-15.00 Sustainability in Industry Avantor, UK
15.00-15.30 Coffee Break
15.30-16.00 Dr Isaiah Speight The College of William & Mary
USA
16.00-17.00 Prof. Franziska Emmerling Federal Institute for Materials
Research and Testing (BAM)
Germany
17.00-17.15 Closing & Prizes
iv
Chemistry for a Sustainable World
Tom Welton
Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, UK
Email: [email protected]
In this talk I will explore how the concept of Sustainable Chemistry has developed and
its origins in the idea of sustainable development. I will look at the interplay of scientific
advances with regulation and the wider policy agenda. I will focus on the UN Sustainable
Development Goals which provide a framework for the creation of a sustainable common
future, The chemical sciences and chemical scientists have much to offer to all of the SDGs.
In this talk I will explore how chemistry is currently contributing to achieving the SDGs,
some of the challenges to still be faced and the research that is being conducted to overcome
those challenges.
1
A Systemic Change for a Sustainable Future: The Green
Chemistry Commitment
Juliana Vidal
Beyond Benign
Email: [email protected]
Education is central to creating lasting change, and a background in sustainability allows the
development of a scientific workforce and a knowledgeable citizenry that is prepared with the
skills to design and choose more benign processes for human health and the environment. In
this context, green chemistry education plays a fundamental role in achieving the 17 United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the targets stated due to its capacity to reach
and interconnect distinct aspects of our society.
Beyond Benign is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating a systemic change in
chemistry education and empowering the chemistry community to practice sustainability at
the molecular level through green chemistry. The Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC)
program was co-created in 2013 with institutions’ needs at the center and aims to catalyze
the incorporation of green chemistry into science courses at higher education institutions
globally.
Over 130 institutions are part of the GCC community and are integrating green chemistry
on their own timelines and building upon unique campus environments and strengths. In
this presentation, insights into the GCC program and green chemistry adoption around the
world and in the UK will be discussed.
2
Iron catalyzed graphitization of biomass
Zoe Schnepp
School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, UK
Email: [email protected]
Carbons have a wide range of applications such as battery electrodes, supercapacitors and
materials for water treatment. Many of these applications rely on precise control of chem-
ical and structural features such as graphitic layering or pore size distribution. Graphitic
or turbostratic features are particularly valuable for introducing porosity and maximizing
electronic conductivity and chemical stability. One route to synthesize carbons with a wide
range of graphitic features is catalytic graphitization. This talk will give an overview of cat-
alytic graphitization and how it can be applied to produce carbons with different properties
from biomass.
Figure 1 Nitrogen porosimetry data for carbons produced via the same method from three
different biomass sources, showing that the choice of precursor can have a significant effect on the
textural properties.
3
Polymer nanocomposites for dual adsorption and catalytic
removal of organic pollutants
Xuesi Yin, Fuqiang Chang, and Gemma-Louise Davies.
Email: [email protected]
School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, UK
Methylene blue (MB) is one of the substances most frequently used in the dye busi-
ness. However, MB is toxic, carcinogenic, non-biodegradable and poses a serious threat to
human health and environmental safety. Traditionally, two main approaches are explored
for the removal of MB, i.e., physisorption and chemical conversion. This research project
aims to develop a hybrid system that combines both physisorption and chemical catalysis
for synergistic MB removal. Polyphosphazene particles functionalized with both thiol and
amine groups will be prepared as both absorbent and carrier for gold nanoparticle (AuNPs)
catalysts. The abundant thiol and amino groups in the particles not only facilitate the
binding of MB molecules, but also act as effective chemical handles to immobilize AuNPs.
The composite materials showcased dual capabilities: rapid physisorption and high catalytic
efficiency in the removal of MB. Moreover, as a proof-of-concept, we illustrated that the syn-
ergy between physisorption and chemical conversion surpasses the efficiency of solely relying
on chemical catalytic reactions. This underscores the significance of physical adsorption in
elevating catalyst performance. This theory is likely not limited to just MB removal but also
holds promise for other reactions, such as CO2 immobilization, and similar processes.
4
Acid-Assisted Separation of Cathodic Material from Spent
Electric Vehicle Batteries for Recycling
Anton Zorin, Tengfei Song , Dominika Gastol, and Emma Kendrick.
Email: [email protected]
School of Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham, UK
The recycling of lithium-ion batteries presents challenges due to the complex composition
of waste streams generated by current processes. Achieving higher purity levels, particularly
in the reclamation of aluminium metal and transition metal black mass, is essential for
improved valorisation. In this study, we propose a high-efficiency, low-energy, and envi-
ronmentally friendly method using organic acids to separate cathodic black mass from the
aluminium current collector. The acids selected in this study all show > 86% peeling ef-
ficiency with acetic acid showing 100% peeling efficiency of black mass from the current
collector. The recovered materials were subjected to X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy,
and elemental analysis techniques. We show that oxalic-acid-treated material exhibited two
distinct active material components with a minimal change in mass ratio compared to the
untreated material. We show by elemental analysis of the leachates that the majority of
critical materials were retained in the black mass and limited aluminium was leached dur-
ing the process, with almost 100% of Al recovery achieved. This methodology enables the
production of high-purity concentrated aluminium and critical metal feedstocks (Mn, Co,
Ni, and Li) for further hydro-metallurgical processes, upcycling of the cathode material, and
direct recycling. The proposed approach offers significant potential for enhancing valoriza-
tion in lithium-ion battery recycling, facilitating efficient separation and optimal recovery of
valuable metals.
5
Structural studies of a low-temperature magnesium nitrate based
phase-change material
Hannah T. Logan,a,b David Oliver,b and Colin R. Pulhama
Email: [email protected]
a) Sunamp Ltd., Macmerry, East Lothian, UK
b) EaStCHEM School of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, UK
The increasing use of renewable energy sources across the world requires new technologies
for energy storage, to address the intermittency of these energy sources. Thermal energy
storage (TES) can be used to store energy as heat. In particular, latent heat storage, which
uses phase-change materials (PCMs), is a promising TES method that can also be used
in low-temperature applications. A PCM which can be used for TES applications in low-
temperature food refrigeration is the magnesium nitrate/water eutectic, which has a melting
point of -30 ◦ C. Although this has been identified as a potential PCM, it is known to sub-
cool. Furthermore, the composition and structure of the eutectic is poorly understood – the
low-temperature phase is believed to comprise Mg(NO3 )2 ·9H2 O and ice (Ih), but the nonahy-
drate has not been structurally characterised. Using powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), the
conditions required for the reproducible crystallisation of the eutectic composition were iden-
tified and a subsequent single crystal X-ray diffraction study identified the low-temperature
hydrate as the previously unknown octahydrate, Mg(NO3 )2 ·8H2 O. An additional metastable
phase was discovered during the variable temperature PXRD studies, but it has not yet been
possible to index this powder pattern.
6
Development of Resonant Acoustic Mixing (RAM) for organic
synthesis
Lori Gonneta Cameron B. Lennox,a Farshid Effaty,a Stefan G. Koenig,b Karthik
Nagapudi,b and Tomislav Friščića
Email: [email protected]
a) School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK
b) Genentech, 1 DNA Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
Over the past twenty years, mechanochemistry has become widely recognized as a power-
ful tool in the field of Green Chemistry, as it provides the opportunity to conduct syntheses
in the absence of bulk solvent.1−2 Typically, mechanosynthesis involves the use of grinding
media, such as milling balls or screws, to transmit mechanical energy to the reaction mixture.
However, the presence of this media can raise concerns about contamination of the product
resulting from wear and tear of these components. Moreover, the chaotic motion of milling
media is difficult to reproduce across different types of ball mills, which makes processes dif-
ficult to transfer and scale-up. To overcome these problems, alternative technologies that do
not rely on grinding media have been developed, such as resonant acoustic mixing (RAM),
a mixing instrument based on the application of a low-frequency (60 Hz) and high-intensity
acoustic field.3
Our collaboration with the Genentech team of Nagapudi and Koenig has led us to de-
velop this mixing methodology for the synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and
organic molecules, including active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).4−8 Due to the ab-
sence of bulk solvents, grinding media, and the ability to perform mixing from the milligram
to the kilogram scale in the same instrument, RAM technology simplifies mechanochemical
reaction design and scale-up, whilst eliminating the contamination risk. This presentation
will outline our advances in understanding important parameters of RAM synthesis, such as
time, acceleration, temperature, amount of liquid additive, and others.
1. S. L. James et al. Chem. Soc. Rev., 2012, 41, 413–447.
2. T. Friščić, C. Mottillo, and H. M. Titi, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2020, 59, 1018–1029.
3. A. A. L. Michalchuk, K. S., Hope, S. R. Kennedy, M. V. Blanco, E. V. Boldyreva, and C. R. Pulham, Chem. Commun.,
2018, 54, 4033–4036.
4. H. M. Titi, J.-L. Do, A. J. Howarth, K. Nagapudi, and T. Friščić, Chem. Sci., 2020, 11, 7578–7584.
5. L. Gonnet, C. B. Lennox, J.-L. Do, I. Malvestiti, S. G. Koenig, K. Nagapudi, and T. Friščić, Angew. Chem., Int. Ed., 2022,
61, e202115030.
6. L. Gonnet, T. H. Borchers, C. B. Lennox, J. Vainauskas, Y. Teoh, H. M. Titi, C. J. Barrett, S. G. Koenig, K. Nagapudi,
and T. Friščić, Faraday Discuss., 2023, 241, 128.
7. C. B. Lennox, T. H. Borchers, L. Gonnet, C. J. Barrett, S. G. Koenig, K. Nagapudi, and T Friščić, Chem. Sci., 2023, 14,
7475-7481.
8. F. Effaty, L. Gonnet, S. G. Koenig, K Nagapudi, X. Ottenwaelder, and T. Friščić, Chem. Commun., 2023, 59, 1010–1013.
7
Porous carbons as sustainable energy materials
Robert Mokaya
University of Nottingham, UK
Email: [email protected]
The talk will explore the conversion of biomass and other waste carbonaceous matter to
porous carbons with optimised properties for use in energy storage applications, and specif-
ically the storage of CO2 , hydrogen or methane. The talk will describe how study of a
wide range of biomass and non-biomass precursors has enabled the preparation of porous
carbons with optimised properties for specific energy storage applications in a predictable
and targeted manner.
8
Air, earth, fire, water – the elements and alchemy of green
Paul Anderson
School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, UK
Email: [email protected]
Our material world is constructed from little more than 90 different chemical elements
which have been extracted, manipulated, and curated since the beginning of the iron age
by chemists, alchemists and materials scientists to deliver the properties that underpin our
technological way of life. The number of different elements required to deliver modern
technologies (such as automotive transport) has grown rapidly in a century from a handful
to the majority of the Periodic Table.
Drawing on examples this talk will show that efficient husbandry of the earth’s elemen-
tal resources is the hidden key to an effective and equitable net-zero transition. This will
also require a commitment to net zero waste, with products designed for ease of recycling,
materials recovery and reprocessing, if we hope to deliver a sustainable future.
9
The Extraction and Recycling of Rare Earth Permanent Magnets
Lydia Pickering
School of Metallurgy and Materials, University of Birmingham, UK
Email: [email protected]
Rare-Earth permanent magnets based on Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) are used in a
wide range of high-tech industries, such as automotive, aerospace, e-mobility, wind power
generation, and consumer goods. In recent years, as demand for these materials has increased
their supply has come under considerable pressure and, as a result, the rare earth elements
are now at the top of the EU critical materials list in terms of supply risk. The recycling of
end-of-life products containing NdFeB magnets is one solution to ensure a strategic long-term
supply of rare earth materials, however, currently less than 1 % of all rare earth elements
are recycled; this is largely due to the social and technological challenges surrounding their
collection and recovery. This talk will provide an overview of the activities performed by the
Magnetic Materials Group at the University of Birmingham on recycling NdFeB permanent
magnets.
10
Considerations for Optimizing Ball-Milling for Sustainable
Syntheses
James Batteas
Department of Chemistry, Texas A&M University, USA
Email: [email protected]
A systematic investigation of the role of oxygen, milling assembly, and milling conditions
(e.g. jar loading, ball-mass ratio) for the mechanochemical synthesis of the anti-diabetic drug
Tolbutamide via copper-catalyzed coupling is presented. Using in-house designed equipment
for work under a controlled atmosphere has enabled the discovery that the former catalyst
for this transformation, CuCl, acts as a pre-catalyst activated by aerobic oxidation to form
the true catalytic Cu(II) species. The choice of milling jar material (stainless steel vs.
aluminum vs. Teflon) is shown to have a critical effect on coupling, with the reducing
presence of aluminum effectively “shutting down” reactivity likely by preventing pre-catalyst
oxidation. This phenomenon is deemed mechanoinhibition. Studies show that supplementing
CuCl for CuCl2 enables catalyst loading and reaction time to be reduced, thus increasing
reaction substantially. Furthermore, investigations reveal that reaction jar loading alters
yield, suggesting a means of reducing the required amount of catalyst, and points to the
sensitivity of this reaction to mechanical factors of the milling conditions.
11
Toward sustainable syntheses of metal-organic frameworks
Andrea Laybourn
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, University of Nottingham, UK
Email: [email protected]
Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly porous materials with a potential multi-
billion-dollar impact in the sorbents industry. However, current states of the art in manu-
facture have restricted widespread adoption of MOFs for industrial applications, as at scale
they deliver poor reproducibility in quality, whilst incurring high energy and capital costs
for manufacture. The development of technologies that reduce the cost of manufacture in
an efficient and sustainable way is a key enabling step in the transfer of MOF research from
the laboratory to industrial application.
Both continuous flow and microwave technologies show great promise for MOF synthesis,
offering benefits such as control over MOF structure and properties, substantially reduced
reaction times (from hours to seconds), and high space time yields, crucial for scale up.
This presentation discusses our research on the synthesis of MOFs using continuous flow
and bespoke microwave technologies, including understanding the mechanism of MOF for-
mation, the production of novel MOF-hybrids, and work involving a novel continuous flow
oscillatory baffled reactor equipped with a homogeneous and controllable microwave appli-
cator. Notably, our bespoke technologies are capable of synthesising MOFs on extraordinary
timescales (ca 2.2 seconds) and with astonishingly high space time yields (STY) of 6.32 105
kg/m3 /day, demonstrating the highest reported STY and fastest route to MOFs produced
via any method to-date. We also showcase the high level of control over MOF properties,
afforded by our technologies, which are essential for practical applications.
12
Cation-disordered LiNiO2 as a cathode for Li-ion batteries
Javier Castells-Gil,a Bo Dong,a Farheen N. Sayed,b Cheng Li,c Clare P. Grey,b Peter R.
Slater,a and Phoebe K. Allana
Email: [email protected]
a) School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
b) Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
c) Neutron Scattering Division, Spallation Neutron Source, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge,
TN, 37830 USA
Lithium-rich cation-disordered rock salt (DRS) oxides are attracting a great deal of at-
tention as the next generation high energy Li-ion cathode materials given their exceptionally
high capacities ( 300 mA h g-1 ), and their high chemical versatility that allows for a variety of
metal compositions whilst facilitating the solubility of doping species for enhanced stability
and electrochemical properties.1,2 Unlike common layered transition metal oxide cathodes,
such as Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O2 , this family of disordered oxides consist of a cubic NaCl structure
in which the Li and transition metal ions are disordered throughout the structure as in a
solid solution. This can lead to different degrees of short-range order depending on the
composition, which can in turn have an effect on the electrochemical performance.3 More-
over, the disordered arrangement of cations in the DRS cathodes allows for smaller, isotropic
volume changes than those observed in the layered cathodes upon consecutive lithiation/de-
lithiation processes, which can help mitigate the long-term stability issues of cathodes due
to the particle cracking resulting from the large volume changes. Herein, we show how the
Figure 1: Powder X-ray diffractograms (left), electrochemical capacity versus voltage curves
(middle), and cycling stability in the voltage window of 1.5 - 4.4 V (right) of pristine LNO before
and after the transformation to a disordered rock salt.
introduction of disordered into the layered LiNiO2 results in a cation-disordered rock salt
with an unprecedented 1:1 Li:Ni ratio. We show how the introduction of disorder in LiNiO2
slightly reduces the average working voltage but has, in turn, a positive effect on the cycling
stability without reducing the overall capacity of the material. Moreover, we make use of
local characterisation techniques like pair distribution function (PDF) analysis of X-ray and
neutron total scattering measurements and solid-state NMR to study the local structure of
Li-ions within the cation-disordered network to correlate the presence of short-range ordering
in the material with its electrochemical properties.
1. R. J. Clément, Z. Lun, and G. Ceder, Energy Environ. Sci., 2020, 13, 345.
2. W. D. Richards, S. T. Dacek, D. A. Kitchaev, and G. Ceder, Adv. Energy Mater., 2018, 8,1701533.
3. H. Ji, A. Urban, D. A. Kitchaev, D. H. Kwon, N. Artrith, C. Ophus, W. Huang, Z. Cai, T. Shi, J. C. Kim, H. Kim, and G.
Ceder, Nat. Commun., 2019, 10,592.
13
N-heterocyclic Phosphines as Pre-catalysts for the Selective
Degradation of Poly(lactic acid)
Laura English,a,b Matthew Jones,a,b,c and David Liptrota,b
Email: [email protected]
a) Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
b) Centre for Sustainable and Circular Technologies, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
c) School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, UK
In recent years an influx of research has been conducted on the production of polymers
derived from renewable resources and their breakdown into re-useable resources or value-
added chemicals.1 One such polymer, poly(lactic acid) (PLA), can be produced from the
ring-opening polymerization of lactide which is derived from lactic acid, a renewable product
of the fermentation of starch rich feedstocks such as corn. While PLA is mechanically
recyclable, and under certain conditions biodegradable,2 recently research has focused on
the catalytic degradation of the polymer to form alkyl lactates via alcoholysis.3 Some of
the compounds reported to act as catalysts for the production of PLA, have also been
reported to be active for its alcoholysis, and even the alcoholysis of other waste plastics
such as poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(caprolactone) (PCL).4 In this work,
Figure 1: Kinetic profile of N-heterocyclic phosphine catalysed degradation reaction.
an air-stable N-heterocyclic phosphine was shown to selectively degrade PLA in the presence
of an alcohol while remaining unreactive towards PET and PCL, with no competing ring-
opening polymerization of lactide.5 Kinetic analysis of the reaction provided insight into the
mechanism of the reaction, comparable to that reported in the literature and the efficacy of
the reaction was tested in multiple solvents. The identity of the active catalyst species was
then investigated and shown to be the enediamine ligand produced by the reaction of the
pre-catalyst with alcohols. The kinetics of the reaction were then probed using an authentic
sample of the active catalyst and the reaction was shown to proceed much faster. Isolation
of the active catalyst is not trivial, however, and the compound is highly air-sensitive. Thus
the reaction benefits from the employment of the air-stable N-heterocyclic phosphine pre-
catalyst which is, by comparison, much easier to synthesise and provides the same selectivity
as the active species.
1. J. B. Zhu, and E. Y. X. Chen, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2018, 57, 12558-12562.
2. R. Auras, B. Harte, and S. Selke, Macromol. Biosci., 2004, 4, 835-864.
3. a) P. McKeown, L. A. Roman-Ramirez, S. Bates, J. Wood, and M. D. Jones, ChemSusChem, 2019, 12, 5233-5238; b) J.
Payne, P. McKeown, and M. D. Jones, Polym. Degrad. Stab., 2019, 165, 170-18
4. a) P. McKeown, M. Kamran, M. G. Davidson, M. D. Jones, L. A. Roman-Romirez, and J. Wood, Green Chem., 2020,
22, 3721-3726; b) J. Payne, P. McKeown, M. F. Mahon, E. A. C. Emanuelsson, and M. D. Jones, Polym. Chem., 2020, 11,
2381–2389.
5. L. E. English, M. D. Jones, and D. J. Liptrot, ChemCatChem, 2022, 14, e202101904.
14
Oxidative mechanochemistry: a faster and safer route for the
activation of metallic gold
Thomas Auvray,a,b Jean-Louis Do,b,c Cameron B. Lennox,a,b Hatem M. Titi,b Louis A.
Cuccia,c and Tomislav Friščića,b*
Email: [email protected]
a) School of Chemistry, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
b) Department of Chemistry, McGill University, 801 Sherbrooke Street West, H3A 0B8, Montréal, Canada
c) Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Concordia University, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, H4B
1R6, Montréal, Canada
Gold-based materials are surrounding us in many forms, from jewellery to electronic devices.
However, because of its unique properties, the processing and purification of metallic gold
requires particularly harsh reaction conditions, such as high-temperature activation with
chlorine gas or mixtures of concentrated acids. Aiming to improve on the sustainability of
the manufacturing of gold-based materials, we report the mechanochemical1 activation of
metallic gold with Oxone, a common pool cleaning agent, and varied halide sources (such
as metal chloride salts2 ) as a simple, rapid and efficient method to generate crystalline
salts commonly used as precursors for gold-based materials or for gold purification through
electrochemical methods. The development of this new, cleaner and sustainable approach,
which is readily followed by Powder X-Ray Diffraction (PXRD), also involves the prepara-
tion and structural analysis of a range of organoammonium haloaurate(III) salts, providing
fundamental insight into solid-state structural chemistry of gold.3
1. T. Friščić, C. Mottillo, and H. M. Titi, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2019, 132 , 1030-1041.
2. J.-L. Do, D. Tan, and T. Friščić, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2018, 57, 2667-2671.
3. J.-L. Do, T. Auvray, C. Lennox, H. M. Titi, L. Cuccia, and T. Friščić, Green Chem., 2023, 25, 5899-5906.
15
A Wider View of Sustainability
Isaiah Speight
The College of William and Mary, USA
Email: [email protected]
To the non-scientist, sustainability is viewed as plastics recycling, water conservation, and
environmental care. How can we use this fundamental view to influence our approach to
sustainable science? We can expand our approach to sustainability by implementing new
tools and exploring ways to improve current manufacturing practices. Additionally, we can
expand the areas that we focus on with relation to sustainability. Environmental Sustain-
ability, Financial Sustainability, and Educational Sustainability are all important pieces that
may not always take the spotlight. Advances in sustainable manufacturing and ideas around
these three fundamental principles will be discussed.
16
Understanding Mechanochemical Reactions: Real-Time Insights
and Collaborative Research
Franziska Emmerling
Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM), Germany
Email: [email protected]
Mechanochemistry has become a compelling method for producing (new) molecules and ma-
terials, but the inner workings of the milling jars remain a fascinating mystery. Advances
in this field include tailor-made chemical systems and real-time revelations using techniques
such as XRD and Raman spectroscopy. This talk will discuss our recent progress in using
X-ray diffraction and sophisticated spectroscopy to observe reactions in various material
systems during ball milling and extrusion in real-time. The complexity of mechanochem-
ical reactions spans multiple scales and requires a holistic approach. The categorisation
of reactions by investigative methods precedes the exploration of real-time analysis that
reveals macroscopic processes using synchrotron techniques. During this exploration, one
resounding realisation remains: We are on the threshold of understanding. The complex-
ity of mechanochemistry requires a collective effort, drawing on the expertise of a diverse
community. As we unravel the web of mechanochemical phenomena, we acknowledge the
collaborative nature of this ongoing journey.
17
Author Index
Anderson Logan
Paul, 9 Hannah, 6
Auvray
Thomas, 15 Mokaya
Robert, 8
Batteas
James, 11 Pickering
Lydia, 10
Castells-Gil
Javier, 13 Schnepp
Chang Zoe, 3
Fuqiang, 4 Speight
Emmerling Isaiah, 16
Franziska, 17
Vidal
English
Juliana, 2
Laura, 14
Gonnet Welton
Lori, 7 Tom, 1
Laybourn Zorin
Andrea, 12 Anton, 5
18
