Glucose to hexanes

Michael Gagne and co-workers at UNC used an iridium catalyst to reduce glucose to hexanes.

JACS paper

1,4-conjugate addition in water

Bruce Lipshutz and co-workers have reported in JACS on a organocuprate Michael addition in WATER.

JACS paper

Cyclic carbonate to diols and methanol

Kuiling Ding and co-workers from Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry have reported in ACIE on the ruthenium catalyzed cyclic carbonate transformation to diols and methanol. Cyclic carbonates are a product of CO2 and epoxides the first product of the Shell omega process.

ACIE paper

New fuels approach

Dean Toste and co-workers published in Nature on a way to use bacteria to break down sugars then extracting the broken down products and reacting them together with a palladium catalyst to form a fuel source.

 

Nature paper

Oil Sponge

George John and co-workers at CUNY are designing small molecules that will sequester oil from water.

ACIEE paper