Biomimetic Foldamers as a New Class of Sustainable Catalysts
Secondary Supervisor(s): Dr Adam Michalchuk
University of Registration: University of Birmingham
BBSRC Research Themes:
- Understanding the Rules of Life (Structural Biology, Systems Biology)
Project Outline
Background
Foldamers are synthetic oligomers that adopt bioinspired conformations (helices). They possess excellent bio- and environmental-compatibility and, due to their modular system design, have highly tuneable molecular properties. We have shown that the compressibility and molecular dipole of foldamers can be readily and widely tuned. Hence, given their bio- and environmental-compatibility and highly tuneable nature, this makes biomimetic foldamers ideal candidates in the search for new sustainable catalysts.
Catalysis is necessary for a wide range of processes but, despite major advances in mechanochemistry, unfortunately, its application for sustainable catalysis is unexplored which restricts its potential use. Piezoelectric materials, which are materials that can generate an electrical charge when compressed when exposed to electricity, have recently emerged as promising catalysts for mechanochemical reactions. Unfortunately, many current piezocatalysts are based on inorganic or composite materials, whose inherent environmental and biological toxicity severely limits their use in sustainable practices. Herein, we will develop a new class of biomimetic piezocatalysts whose inherent tuneability combined with their excellent bio and environmental-compatibility will make them the next generation of sustainable catalysts. They will be used for the synthesis of plant and crop treatments (e.g., herbicides). We will develop our understanding of the mode of function of these bioinspired catalysts to optimise their performance.
Objective
This project will establish foldamers as a new class of bio- and environmentally-compatible sustainable piezocatalysts, which are highly tuneable for use in green synthesis.
Methodology
The project requires a combination of organic chemistry synthesis and advanced analytical study including computational analysis to generate the novel foldamers and to assess their performance as sustainable catalysts.
