Improving the ability to recycle biomass and waste products has become an integral focus of research because of the global energy crisis. Hydrogenation reactions represent one path that can be scaled up to industry level, but catalytic reactions require a less expensive, recoverable and efficient catalyst. Rhodium catalysts are expensive but show great promise.
To get around the price constraint, the SUNY Fredonia contingent studied the use of nanometer-sized heterogeneous rhodium catalyst loaded on a titania solid support to evaluate the efficiency of benzaldehyde hydrogenation. The reaction pathway was proposed for the rhodium nanoclusters on titania from computations and isotope labelling experiments. The pathway showed the need for multiple coordination sites for the catalyst, which led to research into the optimal number of rhodium 14 binding sites on a molecular catalyst.
Three complexes, from one to three rhodium sites, were loaded onto titania support and tested in the same way. The marine muscle Mytilus edulis secretes mussel adhesive proteins MAPs that offer a promising, non-toxic alternative due to their strong attachment to various surfaces, including underwater environments. Of interest is mefp3, which is found in the byssal threads of M. Past efforts to isolate mefp-3 through natural extraction yielded low-purity samples, but recombinant techniques promise a faster and purer isolation process.
By isolating mefp-3 and exploring its adhesion mechanisms and molecular structure, the study aims to pave the way for developing bio-inspired adhesives that are effective, non-toxic and resistant to biofouling. The hydrogen bond is thought to simply be an interaction between hydrogen and electronegative atoms Fluorine, Nitrogen and Oxygen , but there have been recent examples of hydrogen bonds forming with unconventional H-bond acceptors.
These nonconventional H-bond acceptors include any Lewis base aside from those containing Fluorine, Nitrogen and Oxygen, that could in theory perform hydrogen bonding. Under specific conditions, these nonconventional bonds can be created and even form crystal structures, allowing for more in depth research into these examples. Student research consisted of preparing solid structure examples of conventional and nonconventional hydrogen bonds using a sterically hindered protein.
