Prof. David Milstein Discusses Green Catalysis in the Forum of Great Minds

The renowned chemist Prof. David Milstein from the Weizmann Institute of Science shared his prospective on green catalysis to the USTC researchers in the Forum of Great Minds on May 29. Prof. Milstein is a member of the Israel National Academy of Sciences and Humanities, the US National Academy of Sciences and the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The forum lecture entitled “Design and Applications of Catalytic Reactions for Sustainable Synthesis and Energy” was hosted by Profs. GONG Liuzhu and HUANG Hanmin from the School of Chemistry and Materials Science.

Welcoming remarks by Prof. GONG Liuzhu (left) and the audience of USTC researchers (right) / Photo from USTC News Center

Prof. Milstein introduced his recent research on the development of fundamental organometallic chemistry. “Green catalysis is the key for a sustainable future,” Prof. Milstein said at the beginning of the talk, “it is particularly important to have a fundamental understanding about how to catalytically convert the less-valued molecules such as nitrogen, water and carbon dioxide to the value-added products using metal-ligand complex compounds.”

Prof. David Milstein lectures at the Forum of Great Minds / Photo from USTC News Center

Prof. Milstein further showcased the metal-ligand complex compounds prepared in his group. “We developed a series of pincer complex compounds based on the metals like Rh, Fe, Co and Mn,” Prof. Milstein said, “these compounds produce useful chemicals from the alcohol dehydrogenation and ester hydrogenation reactions in an environment-friendly manner.”

In the end of the talk, Prof. Milstein also mentioned the applications of pincer complex compounds in biofuel upgrade and hydrogen storage. “The fuels upgraded from ethanol dehydrogenation reactions demonstrate better gasoline-like performance than ethanol itself,” explains Prof. Milstein. “On the other hand, the cycle of catalytic dehydrogenation and hydrogenation of formic acid serves as a promising route for hydrogen storage.”

In addition to the Q&A session, Prof. Milstein had discussions on varies research topics with the audience after the forum.

 (Written by XU Yunfei,edited by HUANG Danning, USTC News Center)