We look for a talented PhD student to work on the development of novel embedding techniques to deal with metallic surfaces. Check our offer now!
New paper is out!
Tuning Nano‐Nickel Catalyst Hydrogenation Aptitude by On‐the‐Fly Zirconium Doping
https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202000235
The effect of nano‐Ni catalyst post‐synthetic Zr‐modification on hydrogenation reaction of 6‐methyl‐5‐hepten‐2‐one was investigated in a fixed bed continuous‐flow micro‐reactor to produce fine chemicals. The catalytic performance revealed that Zr‐doping achieved by surface organometallic chemistry approach modifies the natural aptitude of nickel to hydrogenate C=C bond, since the addition of small quantities of zirconium significantly increased the amount of unsaturated and saturated alcohols formed in 6‐methyl‐5‐hepten‐2‐one hydrogenation. Quantum chemical calculations revealed a stronger interaction between Zr←O=C that promotes the formation of C=C semihydrogenation product and enhances the probability of complete hydrogenation. The on‐the‐fly strategy presented herein enables for rapid optimization and understanding of catalytic processes.
Tomasz Bernarek joins the group!
He will work on theory of reactivity at metallic surfaces
Interview with Małgorzata Zienkiewicz-Machnik
Gosia was the guest of Otokoclub.pl portal and gave an interview on the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007 (Gerhard Ertl).
See the interview (in PL only, sorry) under: http://otokoclub.pl/video_,355,wywiad-z-dr-malgorzata-zienkiewicz-machnik-o-nagrodzie-nobla-z-chemii-z-2007-r.html
CoopCat group at IPC PAS was officially launched on 01.01.2010!
The CoopCat team is now officially recognized at IPC PAS as Group 20: Cooperative Catalysis!
Marcin Tomczyk will carry out MSc in our group
Marcin is a master student from Warsaw University of Technology. He will focus on enantioselective epoxidation of enones. Good luck Marcin!
PostDoc Aleksandra Siklitckaia joined the group!
Aleksandra will work on homogeneous catalysis problems, especially on non-linear effects. She will also contribute to our research in heterogeneous catalysis. Good luck Sasha!
Further on retinoids isomerization: this time light!
Happy to announce new paper from our group:
Z-isomerization of retinoids through combination of monochromatic photoisomerization and metal catalysis
Catalytic Z-isomerization of retinoids to their thermodynamically less stable Z-isomer remains a challenge. In this report, we present a photochemical approach for the catalytic Z-isomerization of retinoids using monochromatic wavelength UV irradiation treatment. We have developed a straightforward approach for the synthesis of Z-retinoids in high yield, overcoming common obstacles normally associated with their synthesis. Calculations based on density functional theory (DFT) have allowed us to correlate the experimentally observed Z-isomer distribution of retinoids with the energies of chemically important intermediates, which include ground- and excited-state potential energy surfaces. We also demonstrate the application of the current method by synthesizing gram-scale quantities of 9-cis-retinyl acetate 9Z-a. Operational simplicity and gram-scale ability make this chemistry a very practical solution to the problem of Z-isomer retinoid synthesis.
Read more: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/ob/c9ob01645g
Openings in CoopCat project!
We are hiring! We look for a skilled PhD student and post-doctoral researcher to join CoopCat team. Student positions are available as well. See details in Jobs section!
Paper about E/Z isomerization of retinoids accepted in Dalton Trans.
Our work on catalytic E/Z isomerization of retinoids was just accepted in Dalton Transactions! It is already online as ‘just accepted’ unformated paper:
https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2019/dt/c9dt02189b#!divAbstract
This work is a result of our collaboration with Prof. Palczewski group at UC Irvine.