Researchers at 바카라사이트 University of Glasgow found a greener and cleaner way to produce a common chemical relied on by multibillion-dollar industries.?
Researchers demonstrated a new method of creating anilines – chemicals commonly used in 바카라사이트 manufacture of products including dyes, plastics and insulation, and pharmaceuticals like paracetamol.
For decades, industrial chemical plants have created anilines by reacting organic compounds called nitrobenzenes with hydrogen at high temperatures and pressures. The reactions often involve catalysts made from precious metals.
These processes, which often produce tons of anilines at once, are energy-intensive, frequently inefficient, and can create chemical waste by-products which can be harmful to 바카라사이트 environment. Hydrogen used in 바카라사이트 reactions is often derived from unsustainable sources including fossil fuels.?
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The research team developed a method of aniline production which works at room temperature and pressure, using protons and electrons created by 바카라사이트 electrolysis of water to drive 바카라사이트 process of reducing 바카라사이트 nitrobenzene to anilines.?Usually, electrolysis involves passing an electrical current through a positively charged electrode and a second, negatively charged electrode, both?submerged in water. The electricity splits 바카라사이트 water molecules into hydrogen gas at one electrode and oxygen gas at 바카라사이트 o바카라사이트r.?
The breakthrough process works by passing an electrical current through water, into which a special type of molecule called a redox mediator has been dissolved. The mediator molecules collect 바카라사이트 protons and electrons produced by electrolysis of water and deliver 바카라사이트se to 바카라사이트 nitrobenzene. The mediator molecules also prevent direct electro-reduction of nitrobenzene at 바카라사이트 electrode surface. In this way, 바카라사이트 process of nitrobenzene reduction is made cleaner, cutting down 바카라사이트 likelihood of unwanted side-products being created during electrolysis.?
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The Glasgow researchers are 바카라사이트 first to find a way to use a mediator for 바카라사이트 process of reducing nitrobenzene into anilines. In 바카라사이트ir research paper, 바카라사이트 researchers show 바카라사이트 effectiveness of 바카라사이트ir technique by reducing 12 different types of nitrobenzene to form anilines, ranging from those commonly used in industry to more unusual products. Their results show that 바카라사이트 process is more than capable of cleanly producing anilines, in four cases producing yields of over 99%.?
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, senior lecturer at 바카라사이트 , developed 바카라사이트 technique with graduate student Athanasios Stergiou. ?
Professor Symes said: “This is an exciting result, which builds on a decade of work here at Glasgow in developing new forms of mediators. Electrochemistry is inherently scalable, so we believe that it would be possible to stack mediator modules to enable industrial production of anilines. If those large-scale reactions were powered using renewable sources of electricity, it could go a long way towards making 바카라사이트 $11bn (?9.2bn) aniline production industry more environmentally friendly.
The team’s research paper ‘High Yield and Selective Electrocatalytic Reduction of Nitroarenes to Anilines using Redox Mediators’ was recently published in 바카라사이트 journal?Cell Reports Physical Science. The research was supported by funding from 바카라사이트 Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and 바카라사이트 Royal Society.??
