Towards Metal-Free Catalysis

This project addresses the grand challenge of metal-free catalysis for the synthesis of value-added chemicals. New main-group compounds based on bismuth and tellurium will be developed in this project at the University of Oulu, as viable metal surrogates for the activation and conversion of carbon dioxide and hydrogen into functional organic compounds. The synthetic strategy of geometric constraint by pincer ligands will be used to harness the non-metals as metal mimics. The project, entitled ‘Towards Metal-Free Catalysis: CO2 and H2 Activation by T-shaped Metal Mimics’, will provide new information about the fundamental chemistry of the main group elements bismuth and tellurium, and their application in homogeneous catalysis in the pursuit of a carbon-neutral society. Both academia and industry are anticipated to benefit from this research that will generate valuable fundamental chemistry knowledge for the wider scientific field of chemical synthesis and catalysis.

Researchers in the project:

• Postdoctoral researcher Selvakumar Balasubramaniam
• Doctoral researcher Disuni Fernando