CENTER FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY BENEFICIAL The University of Kansas

Sustaining Catalysis

...... Update 2020 Annual Report Sustain It’s on everyone’s mind today. How can each coun- try, each company, each individual contribute to Ability sustaining the Earth? At the Center for Environ- mentally Beneficial Catalysis, that question is the core of our existence. Thanking R.V. Chaudhari From 2003, our founders knew that it would take for 13 years of Innovation more than a single discipline or a lone investigator Deane E. Ackers Distinguished to solve today’s most pressing concerns, including Professor of Chemical Engineering clean energy and sustainable manufacturing. Emeritus R.V. has retired from KU and stepped down as For nearly two decades, the CEBC has sustained deputy director of the CEBC. His 45-year aca- our purpose. We have sustained our leadership, demic and research career has been prolific. A few of his contributions while at CEBC include: and we have sustained a contingent of KU fac- . A greener route to propylene glycol from ulty dedicated to the premise that innovations in -derived glycerol . “Ossification” — technique to immobilize chemistry and chemical engineering are vital to homogeneous metal catalysts effecting change across a broad spectrum of eco- . One-pot, lower temperature catalytic route logical, economical and energy grand challenges. to convert glycerol to lactic acid . Low-waste, low-cost BDO from plants With a culture of collaboration, the CEBC pushes . Tandem dehydrogenation/hydrogenolysis . Eco-friendly route from sugar to glucaric acid for change in education and research. We bridge He holds more than 60 patents in the U.S. and disciplines. We listen to stakeholders. We support India. His publications have garnered more inclusive learning spaces. And, we seek to develop than 11,000 citations. cleaner, safer, energy-efficient technologies that R.V. was named to the National Academy of Inventors in 2017, received the 2018 ORCS protect the planet and human health. Murray Raney Award, and earned one of four Higuchi Awards, the Irvin E. Youngberg Award In a year of unprecedented challenges, we are in Applied Sciences, in 2018. proud that the CEBC, its faculty and its research- R.V. took on the role of CEBC ers have Sustained Innovation, Discovery, Syn- deputy director in 2013, after the retirement of ergy, Education and Inspiration while Seeking Prof. Daryle Busch who, the Cutting Edge and New Frontiers. with Bala Subramaniam, founded the CEBC.

Contributors: Claudia Bode, Nancy Crisp, Chris Lyon Designer: Nancy Crisp Copyright © 2020 www.cebc.ku.edu from the Director We seek ...... 2020 was a turbulent year, embroiled in a global pandemic, racial unrest Innovation and political turmoil. These events affected our lives in many ways expos- ing rifts and inequities in society, like never before. They serve as a pow- erful reminder that ensuring social justice is an important component of achieving sustainability, as enunciated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis (CEBC) welcomes input from all stakeholders and remains fully committed to addressing the grand challenges of sustainability, including embracing diversity, equity and in- clusion as core values. Amid the tumult, a landmark event happened recently with lasting impli- cations on protecting our planet. The Sustainable Chemistry Research and Development Act was passed by the United States Congress. This bipartisan bill means that sustainable innovation becomes the law of the land. It is fitting that this law was passed during the year that marked the 50th Earth Day celebration. Previous Earth Day anniversaries celebrated the establish- ment of the Environmental Protection Agency as well as the passage of several landmark environmental legislations, including the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts. And in 2016, the United Nations chose Earth Day to sign the historic Paris Agreement on climate change. Passage of this law comes at a time when the global chemical industry is poised to invest in manufacturing to meet the rising demand for ev- eryday products. The expansion thus provides an opportunity for the in- dustry to transition to more sustainable technologies and raw materials. To aid this global effort, CEBC researchers are investigating renewable and recycled sources of carbon such as plant-based biomass, CO2 and end-of–use plastics as feedstock to make chemicals. We are using state- of-the-art tools to develop catalysts and technologies that minimize harm to the environment and human health. Some of these achievements are highlighted in this report. The resilience and productivity shown by the CEBC researchers and staff during the pandemic has been remarkable and inspirtional. With the help of our campus administrative leaders, we came together to ensure that we effectively sustain our mission. Our center will continue to thrive not only because of the many opportunities it provides to stakeholders but also on how they nurture its growth by impactful outputs. We owe much gratitude to our industry partners and science advisory board members for their steadfast support and guidance of our mission. We look forward to emerging even stronger with a brighter future.

ACS Sustainable Chem. Sincerely, Eng. 2020, 8, 15, 5817–5818 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ acssuschemeng.0c02596 Dr. Bala Subramaniam As an executive editor of the ACS Sustainable CEBC Director Chemical Engineering journal, Prof. Bala Subra- maniam contributed the editorial for the April 20, 2020 Earth Day 50th Anniversary issue . . . 2. . A Boost for Biorefineries Alan Allgeier Kansas Corn Commission Award, $125,541, 3 years ...... Associate Professor of Investigators: Alan Allgeier (PI), Tom Binder Chemical Engineering Renewable fuels and chemicals comprise an essential CEBC is pleased to announce

element of domestic policy for sustainable energy utilization Alan as our new Deputy Director. but are challenged by unfavorable market forces. Alan Alan joined KU as an Associate Allgeier is helping producers tackle these challenges. Professor of Chemical Engineering in 2017. With a strong background in catalysis and previous One way to do this is to direct a portion of ethanol, the largest successful career in industry, he brings exciting new ideas biofuel by volume, toward higher-value chemical derivatives, a to KU and CEBC. His vision, enthusiasm and collaborative strategy widely used by the petroleum industry. To be successful, talent helped launch the Great Plains Catalysis Society in though, the right chemical targets must be identified. Allgeier 2018. After the recent retirement of longtime CEBC Dep- won an award last year from the Kansas Corn Commission to uty Director R.V. Chaudhari, Alan has accepted the role of help ethanol producers do just that. Deputy Director on an interim basis for the next two years. “We’re developing techno-economic models and life-cycle analyses to assess the viability of various ethanol derivatives,” In addition to the KCC grant, Alan collaborates on industry said Allgeier. “Knowing which options are the most attractive, projects, and is currently heading a team of 22 faculty from we can optimize processes for their production, harnessing several universities on a major USDA grant opportunity. the strengths of both biotechnology and catalysis.” CEBC is all about collaboration, and that drives Allgeier says the project allows him to build relationships our programs forward. It’s very fulfilling to work with key stakeholders in Kansas and beyond, which is very in a supportive, collaborative community. beneficial in building his research at KU. To help the team pinpoint targets with both commercial and environmental — Alan Allgeier benefits, Allgeier collaborates with Tom Binder, one of several industry advisors sharing critical knowledge with the CEBC. Tom is retired as senior vice-president for research from agribusiness ADM, a long-time CEBC industry partner.

We seek Ozonolysis Technology Sweetens Sustainability Value of Corn Harvest Leftovers ...... NSF PFI Award, $550,000, 3 years Investigators: Bala Subramaniam (PI), Erik Hagberg (co-PI), Tom Binder, Stef Green, Brandon Kinn Exposing a lignin solution to ozone gas yields flavoring CEBC’s ozonolysis technology is fast and safe. Ozone agents like vanillin and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde (pHB) preferentially attacks carbon-carbon double bonds, plucking that could add nearly $3 for each gallon of ethanol off only the desired aromatics, leaving the rest of the lignin produced. The concept works with lignin from both corn intact for other uses. Vanillin and pHB not only garner value as cobs and stover. flavoring agents, but may also be used as a natural alternative to phenol for making renewable materials. This simple, yet For every kernel culled in the $3 billion annual Kansas corn intensified technology could thus yield a range of revenue- harvest, an equivalent mass of stalks, leaves and cobs remain. generating products. “This has much promise to revolutionize A CEBC research team led by Professor Bala Subramaniam and the corn industry,” says project consultant Dr. Thomas Binder. Erik Hagberg of agribusiness ADM is looking for ways to add commercial value to this vast supply of non-food biomass. If successful, the research could lead to scalable modules for the reactor and separator. The modules are designed One approach is to make use of lignin, a fraction of the biomass for distributed manufacturing, where processing facilities that is stubbornly stable. Despite progress in recent years, locate near farms to avoid shipping costs. This could mean technologies for turning lignin into useful compounds still more revenue for rural areas, less greenhouse gas emissions, suffer from catalyst instability and costly product separation. and renewable raw materials for consumer goods. Steps are The team has discovered a simple alternative—ozonolysis. underway to launch a startup company that will produce skid- mounted versions of the modular reactor and separator units. . 3 . . . Companies in the value chain can license the technologies. I am so proud to be a member of the CEBC. The opportunities to work with world-class experts in such a supportive and col- laborative environment are unmatched by any other institution. — Kevin Leonard

Kevin Leonard, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering Kevin has expanded the role of electrocatalysis research at KU and CEBC since joining as an assistant professor in 2013. He has been a perennial mentor for summer outreach programs at all levels — elementary students, high school students, college students and high school teachers. Kevin’s success in obtaining DOE and ARO grants has leveraged research that resulted in a start-up company. AVIUM, LLC, headed by one of Kevin’s former grad students, contin- ues to collaborate with Kevin through NSF’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR). We seek through the Internet of Catalysis Discovery National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT), Award, $3 million, 5 years Kansas EPSCoR (Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research), $200,000, 1 year ...... Investigators: Kevin Leonard (PI), Bala Subramaniam, Bo Luo, Andrew Williams, James Blakemore Now in its What’s Happening: second year, . One of the NRT’s main goals is to foster research that is student-driven instead of faculty-driven, to empower students to grow as leaders, while helping bridge the gap between data science and the “Internet chemical catalysis—two fields that historically have had little in common. The results could lead to of Catalysis” major breakthroughs in urgent areas such as renewable energy and cleaner chemical processes. NRT program . To harness the power of data science, the NRT trainees learn Python, a programming language. is working to The first cohort of students say this was initially quite challenging. Coding is not a common skill for chemistry majors. NRT trainee Emily Mikeska now writes code to automate time-consuming transform research tasks, like analyzing crystal structures. “A survey of 500 crystal structures will never take me graduate as long as it used to,” Mikeska said, “I genuinely enjoy coding now.” education . Since catalysis is a specialized field, no computer algorithms currently exist that can correctly in chemistry identify its unique terminology. Therefore, trainees first had to create such an algorithm. “This and engineering accomplishment significantly advances the project,” said Leonard. “It takes us closer toward developing an automated method to extract data from catalysis literature.” . In addition to research, the NRT team has created a new course, revamped two others and de- veloped multiple workshops. Dozens of students and postdoctoral researchers have benefited from these training sessions, which cover topics like career planning, teamwork, communication, resilience and unconscious biases. . The NRT program also seeks to make KU more welcoming and inclusive. The team employs evidence-based strategies for inclusion in all training activities. A new Inclusion Advisory Council guides NRT initiatives. NRT leaders also work to recruit students who might feel excluded from science and engineering because of their race, ethnicity and gender. “Embracing diversity and inclusion makes KU stronger and it fuels innovation,” Leonard said. www.nrt.ku.edu

(l to r) NRT trainees (front) Matt Stalcup, Joseph Karnes, Isaac Moore (back) Giordanno Castro Garcia, Dinuka Rajapakse, Emily Mikeska . . . 4. . The best part of CEBC is the ability to collaborate and Brian Laird exchange ideas with scientists of diverse backgrounds, Professor of Chemistry all working to make the world a better place. Brian has been with CEBC — Marco Caricato from the center’s inception, involved in one of the original Ward Thompson thrust groups for the NSF ERC Marco Caricato Professor of Chemistry founding grant. He later received one Associate Professor of Chemistry of six 2012 industry seed grants. From One of CEBC’s first faculty members, Marco joined KU and CEBC in 2014. One 2013 to 2017, he led one of CEBC’s most Ward has participated in an ERC Thrust of his first CEBC research collaborations successful research initiatives, the $4.4M Group, a 2012 industry seed project, was with the NSF CRAFT group from NSF EPA grant that included five faculty the NSF EPA group and now the DOE 2015-2019. He worked with other young training 30 students. He currently is part machine learning grant. He also is half- professors at KU and University of South of the $1.6M DOE machine learning way through a three-year NSF grant to Carolina on molecular design and synthe- grant. In 2019, develop computer-based methods that sis. He served as a mentor for CEBC’s RET Brian completed allow chemists to predict temperature- program, and used his NSF Career Award a five-year term dependence of to help Kansas high schools develop novel as Chair of KU’s molecular tools for their students to explore bonding Chemistry movement. Department. and intermolecular forces. We seek Edge Making sense of amorphousthe Cutting materials with machine learning Department of Energy Award, $1.6 million, 4 years ...... Investigators: Marco Caricato (PI), Brian Laird, Ward Thompson CEBC chemists are using machine learning to explore the mysteries of catalysts supported leads a team at KU and the University of Illinois Urbana- on amorphous silica. The team graduated two Champaign who are doing just that with machine learning. students this year and laid the groundwork Machine learning uses statistical algorithms to analyze and for promising future discoveries. “learn” from datasets. This is how apps recognize faces in photos or how self-driving cars detect objects in the road. Amorphous silica, like sand and glass, is defined by a distinct lack of structural order at the atomic level. Yet, amazing things Caricato’s team wants to use machine learning to identify the can happen when these jumbled solids are sprinkled with geometry of the most catalytically active sites in amorphous metal atoms: they become catalysts, capable of propelling silica doped with niobium or titanium metals. Without this tool, many relevant chemical reactions. These metal-studded silicas it would take millions of calculations to sample enough sites to can be wildly effective as catalysts. Other times, they perform find those that actually drive the catalysis. “Our hope is that poorly or are completely inactive. machine learning will allow us to find the most active sites, vastly shrinking the number of calculations needed to make computer How and why these materials operate the way they do has models of the catalysts,” said Caricato. perplexed chemists for decades. The mystery stems from their disorder, with each metal cradled by a few hundred silicon The KU team includes Professors Ward Thompson and Brian and oxygen atoms randomly arranged in countless positions. Laird, and five KU students, including recent doctoral graduates Predicting the shapes that form the catalyst’s most active sites Amy Jystad and Pubudu Wimalasiri, who are now employed at is a colossal computational task. Department of Energy national laboratories. While taking on such a task would have been unthinkable a Now in its third year, the project is funded by a four-year $1.6 few years ago, recent advances in computing allow scientists million award from the U.S. Department of Energy. This year, the to explore massive datasets like this one. Marco Caricato, team is making the training sets for machine learning to lay the associate professor of chemistry at the University of Kansas, groundwork for potential breakthroughs in how these materials work as catalysts. Knowing how they work could open the door for the rational design of new catalysts. . 5 . . . We seek New Frontiers Tim Jackson Ozone gets choosy in CEBC invention ...... Professor of Chemistry Investigators: Hongda Zhu, Tim Jackson, Bala Subramaniam Tim has been an active CEBC faculty member since 2008. He received a NSF Career Award in 2011 to unravel the Something unexpected happens when CEBC researchers transient structures of manganese catalysts as they spark expose isobutane to a small amount of ozone and water at chemical reactions, facilitating the design of more effec- room temperature. The ozone attacks just one of isobutane’s tive catalysts. In 2012, he earned the prestigious KU Silver ten carbon- bonds, leaving the others intact. Anniversary Award for teaching excellence. As an inves- Usually ozone, a powerful oxidant, clobbers most of the bonds it tigator in CEBC’s NSF EPA grant, he worked on mathe- encounters. So, researchers were initially stumped by these odd matical models for hydroformylation. Tim also is a faculty results. Computational models helped reveal the mechanism. By mentor with CEBC’s NSF NRT program. finding a way to tame feral ozone, the team’s discovery could benefit Tim’s publications garnered exceptional recognition this many relevant reactions. year. For Inorganic Chemistry, ACS named him an “Out- Professors Tim Jackson, chemistry, and Bala Subramaniam, chemical standing Reviewer,” and he had an Editor’s Choice article engineering, mentor post-doctorate Hongda Zhu on the project. An included in a special virtual issue. He also had an invited invention disclosure has been filed and a related publication came feature article in Chemical Communications, and a Jour- out in 2020 with work by two recent graduate students, Derek Rice nal of the American Chemical and Xuhui Chen. The latest results will be published soon. Society Spotlight article. The CEBC is a community that is tackling grand challenges in sustain- able chemistry. It’s easy for academic scientists to get comfortable in their niche projects, but involvement in the CEBC takes me out of my comfort zone to tackle large problems that could never be addressed by a single lab. — Tim Jackson Nanoscopic Voyages: From catalysis to coronavirus NSF Career Award, $500,000, 5 years ...... Juan Investigators: Juan Bravo-Suárez (PI), Bhagyesha Patil Bravo-Suárez Star Trek taught us to think that space is the final frontier. Yet, Associate Professor nanoparticles here on Earth can be just as foreign to humans of Chemical Engineering as the dust on Mars. Recently promoted to associate professor, — Congratu- With support from an NSF CAREER award, Professor Bravo-Suárez lations! — Juan has filled several roles at CEBC and KU. is on a five-year trek to study gold nanoparticles on the surface of Beginning in 2011 as a CEBC postdoctoral researcher, in metal oxide supports. He hopes to find out how the atoms interact 2013 he took a scientist position at ADM, helping launch on these catalytic surfaces to drive chemical conversions. ADM’s lab adjacent to CEBC labs. Aspiring to academia, His ship is a reaction vessel, custom fabricated with a comprehensive Juan successfully transitioned to a KU assistant professor set of tools, including diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. He and his in 2014. He has mentored high school teachers (RET) four graduate students use this device to virtually “see” the and led summer camps for underprivileged elementary formed on catalyst surfaces in real-time. schoolchildren. He and his graduate students continue their outreach efforts with visits to local K-12 schools in The pandemic turned the team’s attention to the coronavirus. Since Lawrence, Kansas. their tools can be used to explore the interplay of molecules on any solid surface, they are now looking at ways to learn more about how With the NSF CRAFT group from 2015-2019, Juan honed germs persist on various surfaces. in situ spectroscopic techniques to predict catalyst func- tion. His 2018 NSF CAREER award funds research that Besides research, the team also makes videos to inspire children’s will help design next-generation gold oxidation catalysts. curiosity in science and to encourage them to become the next generation to boldly go toward new frontiers. . . . 6. . Abby Harders (Advisor Mark Shiflett) • KU Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellowship Student Success Emily Mikeska (Advisor James Blakemore) Kalin Baca (Advisor Mark Shiflett) • H.P. Cady Award in Chemistry • SELF Graduate Fellowship Zeke Piskulich (Advisors Brian Laird, Ward Thompson) Ty Balduf (Advisor Marco Caricato) • Paul & Helen Gilles Award in Physical Chemistry • Higuchi, Takeru & Aya Graduate in Physical Chemistry • A U.S. delegte to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting Amy Jystad (Advisor Marco Caricato) David Sconyers (Advisor James Blakemore) • Higuchi Chemistry Award, the top award in Chemistry, • KU Sustainability Leadership Award bestowed to the department’s best graduating student Victor Sharma (Advisor Alan Allgeier) & Stef Green (Advisor Bala Subramaniam) Nan Wang (Advisor Laurence Weatherley) • Honorable Mention at BioKansas competition • Both students earned Kansas Corn Next Generation Scholarships from the Kansas Corn Commission Amy has been an exceptional student. She built my research program in computational catal- ysis, a field in which I didn’t have prior experience, from the ground up. — Marco Caricato Amy Jystad Victor Sharma Nan Wang Congratulations 2020 Graduates Trending up PhD . . Pallavi Bobba, PhD in Chemical Engineering Career Moves Advisor: R.V. Chaudhari INDUSTRY POSITIONS . . Dylan Jantz, PhD in Chemical Engineering . . Advisor: Kevin Leonard Dylan Jantz, Intel . . David Sconyers, Benét Laboratories . . Amy Jystad, PhD in Chemistry Advisor Marco Caricato POSTDOCTORAL APPOINTMENTS . . Yuting (Emily) Li, PhD in Chemical Engineering . . Pallavi Bobba, Argonne National Lab Advisor: Laurence Weatherley . . Amy Jystad, Pacific Northwest National Lab . . Sijin Ren, University of Florida . . David Sconyers, PhD in Chemistry with honors . . Crystal Shi, Pacific Northwest National Lab Advisor: James Blakemore . . Priya Srinivasan, University of Minnesota . . Pubudu Wimlasiri, PhD in Chemistry . . Pubudu Wimlasiri, Argonne National Lab Advisor: Ward Thompson Master’s . . Vyoma Maroo, MS in Chemical Engineering Murilo Suekuni Vyoma Maroo Bhagyesha Patil Advisor: Alan Allgeier . . Bhagyesha Patil, MS in Chemical Engineering Advisor: Juan Bravo-Suárez Has started PhD program at KU . . Murilo Suekuni, MS in Chemical Engineering Advisor: Alan Allgeier Has started PhD program at KU

I was particularly proud that Vyoma Maroo and Murilo Toledo Suekuni successfully defended their Master’s Theses with high praise from their committees. — Alan Allgeier . 7 . . . Laurence Weatherley Zooming In: Albert P. Learned Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering As one of the first CEBC faculty, Laurence worked January Conferences with Aaron Scurto on the Ionic Liquids thrust group. . . Metals in Biology Gordon Research His current research areas include liquid-liquid sys- Conference, Ventura, California tems, enzymatic catalysis, and ionic liquid solvents. Prof. Tim Jackson, poster presentation, “Understanding the Reactivity of Mid-valent Manganese-hydroxo Intermediates” Laurence served as Chair of KU’s Chemical & Petro- leum Engineering Department from 2004 to 2019. March For nine years until January 2010, he was Executive . . Florida Heterocycles Conference, Gainesville Florida Editor of the Chemical Engineering Journal, covering (last live conference before COVID19) Prof. Jon Tunge presented lecture “Decarboxylative functionalization via hydrogen evolution” environmental chemical engineering. He recently published a new book, Intensi- . . Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students fication of Liquid-Liquid Prof. Tim Jackson, exhibitor for PhD student recruitment Processes, Cambridge University Press, May 2020. April . . Great Plains Catalysis Society Spring Symposium CEBC provides a great Prof. Kevin Leonard, presentation “Electrocatalysis 101” “catalyst” for collaboration August with colleagues and for . . American Chemical Society National Meeting interaction with industry. Profs. Alan Allgeier & James Blakemore; student Hasini Senanayake — Laurence Weatherley September . . Great Plains Catalysis Society Fall Symposium Profs. Alan Allgeier, Juan Bravo-Suárez & Bala Subramaniam; post- doc Priya Srinivasan (gave presentation); students Brandon Kinn, Bhagyesha Patil (gave presentation), Anoop Uchagawkar Faculty November Alan Allgeier . . American Institute of Chemical Engineers Annual Meeting • Invited talk, “Hydrodeoxygenation Highlights with PtWOx Catalysts: Students Stef Green & Anoop Uchagawkar; Mechanistic insight from isotopic labeling,” ACS Catalysis Prof. Marco Caricato & student Murilo Toledo Suekuni; Division, “Chemists Live” virtual symposium Prof. Mark Shiflett, Assoc. Researchers Raj Kore & Ana Morais, and James Blakemore students Kalin Baca, Ethan Finberg, Abby Harders, Nicole Montoya, • Invited department seminars at Yale University, California Nick Reding, Ankit Verma, Anna Wilson & Andrew Yancey Institute of Technology, and University of Central Arkansas . . Sustainability Symposium, Rocky Mountain Regional ACS Marco Caricato Prof. James Blakemore, invited talk • AIChE Annual Meeting talk “Surface Acidity Characteriza- tion of Metal-Doped Amorphous Silicates Via Py-FTIR and 15N NMR Simulations” Bala Subramaniam appointed to Tim Jackson • Recognized as Inorganic Chemistry Outstanding Reviewer National Academy of Sciences committee • “Crystal Structure and C–H Bond-Cleaving Reactivity of a Mononuclear CoIV–Dinitrate Complex,” selected as Jour- In December 2020, CEBC Director Bala Subramaniam nal of the American Chemical Society Spotlight article was invited to serve the National Academy of Sciences https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jacs.0c08579 as a member of the “Committee on Enhancing the U.S. Kevin Leonard Chemical Economy through Investments in Fundamen- • Awarded John E. Sharp and Winifred E. Sharp Teaching tal Research in the Chemical Sciences.” He will serve Professorship • Elected to ACS Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering through February 2023. The nonprofit, nongovern- Early Career Advisory Board mental National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, Mark Shiflett and Medicine provide independent, objective advice to • Group gave 16 presentations at AIChE Annual Meeting spark progress and advance science, engineering, and Bala Subramaniam medicine for the benefit of society. • Elected president of Great Plains Catalysis Society . . . 8. . James Blakemore We seekSynergy Associate Professor of Chemistry We congratulate James on his 2020 promotion to associate professor! James joined CEBC (and Carbon Dioxide-Expanded Electrolytes KU) in 2016. That same year, he joined with Prof. Kevin Leonard on a three-year Sustainable Not a question of IF, but HOW Chemistry grant. Their SusChEM research includ- NSF SusChEM Award, 4 years, $450,000 ed building a first-of-its-kind apparatus to per- ...... form electrocatalysis in liquid carbon dioxide. In Investigators: Prof. Kevin Leonard (PI), Prof. James Blakemore (PI), Prof. Bala 2018, James was one of only 84 scientists across Subramaniam, Dr. Hyun-Jin Lee, David Sconyers, Christian Nilles, Matt Stalcup the nation to receive a DOE Early Career Award. He is now a faculty Four years ago, three CEBC professors from two departments joined forces mentor for the NSF to explore one novel idea: Could pressurized carbon dioxide enhance NRT group at CEBC, electrochemical conversion of this stable gas? and is actively in- After building a one-of-a-kind apparatus for the experiments, the researchers volved in multiple were delighted to discover that their unique approach worked. Use of pres- CEBC initiatives. surized CO2 not only enables electrochemical conversion of CO2 to useful products—it also enables more catalytic conversion to occur than tradition- al electrochemical methods, setting the stage for faster and more efficient technologies in the future. “It was exciting and satisfying to see our Being part of the CEBC hypothesis turn out to be true,” said James Blakemore, co-investigator has been a defining part on the project. “In my view, it’s a rare day when something mapped of my time at KU. It is a collaborative out as an idea works so nicely in reality.” group of researchers doing cutting- Blakemore, along with Professors Kevin Leonard and Bala edge science and engineering work that expands my horizons, and a Subramaniam from chemical engineering, coined the term CO2- group of colleagues and students who eXpanded Electrolytes (CXEs) to describe their exciting innovation. are simply great fun to work with.

The electrochemical reduction of CO2 has been widely studied. — James Blakemore But traditional methods occur at near-ambient pressures, where CO2 resists dissolving in most liquids, thwarting any reaction to convert it into other compounds. CEBC researchers found that adding pressure helps dissolve the CO2, allowing Patents & it to interact with catalysts and electrodes and transform into carbon monoxide — all without impeding effective electron transfer as has occurred in related prior work. Selected. . “Ozone-facilitated Inventions Selective Oxidation of Alkanes in Liquid A $450,000 award from the National Science Foundation Carbon Dioxide,” B. Subramaniam, A.M. Danby and M.D. Lundin, launched the project in 2016, and it wrapped up this year. Five U.S. Patent 10,730,814, issued 8/4/2020. students assisted with the research, including recent doctoral . . “Continuous Process for the Ozonolysis of Lignin to Yield graduates David Sconyers and Charles Shaughnessy, who are Aromatic Monomers,” B. Subramaniam, A.M. Danby and M.D. now employed in industry. Lundin, U.S. Patent 10,745,335, issued 8/18/2020. Now that the team has demonstrated proof-of-concept for . . “Methods of Forming and Using Metal Alloy Oxidative their innovation, they are exploring how it works and how to Catalysts,” R.V. Chaudhari, X. Jin, B. Subramaniam, improve it further. Technologies like this are urgently needed to U.S. Patent 10,821,422, issued 11/3/2020. help mitigate the climate-change threats posed by CO2’s heat- trapping properties in the atmosphere. Rather than spewing . . “Chemical Upcycling Of Plastics By Controlled Degradation With from smokestacks after fossil fuels combust, technologies like Ozone” (B. Subramaniam, A. Danby, J. Silverman, M. Balogun) CXEs could enable CO2 to be diverted into useful raw materials . . “Selective Isobutane Hydroxylation to Tertiary Butyl Alcohol by instead. Now that’s priceless. Ozone” (B. Subramaniam, H. Zhu, T. Jackson)

. 9 . . . Aaron Scurto Professor of We seek Chemical Engineering IndustryInput Recently promoted to full professor — Congratulations!, Since our inception, 14 member companies have Aaron has been a part of CEBC sponsored $9.2 million total in proprietary research from the start. His research focus projects at the CEBC. Companies not only initiate new in ionic liquids has included collab- projects, but renew and extend past projects as well. orations with Bala Subramaniam, Laurence Weatherley This year, several CEBC faculty had at least one industry- and Mark Shilfett. He was awarded one of six CEBC indus- funded project in process. try seed projects in 2012. He has co-authored ACS Sympo- sium Volumes Gas-Expanded Liquids and Near-Critical Media “It’s very gratifying that companies are interested in Green Chemistry and Engineering with Bala Subramaniam, leveraging CEBC’s expertise and infrastructure,” said and Ionic Liquids: Current State and Future Directions with CEBC Director Bala Subramaniam. Mark Shiflett. He currently partners with Mark Shiflett on industry-funded projects. While companies clearly benefit from these partner- ships, faculty members also gain a more diversi- fied research portfolio. Students and postdocs Mark Shiflett gain industry-minded experiences that enhance Foundation Distinguished employment options. And, if new discoveries Professor of Chemical Engineering become commercialized, society will ultimately benefit from cleaner, safer processes for manufac- Mark joined KU in 2016 as one of 12 esteemed turing chemicals. It’s not just about funding; it’s Foundation Distinguished Professors, following a 30-year career as a prominent industry scientist, inventor and team about collaborating on meaningful challenges. leader. He works extensively with industry projects. His CEBC collaborations focus on ionic liquids, sep- The CEBC is a catalyst that brings together like-minded arations and green chemistry. Mark’s KU lab is researchers with wide-ranging expertise. In doing so, the most advanced gravimetric microbalance labora- CEBC has always inspired me to think differently about tory in the U.S., with several gravimetric sorption analy- chemistry and catalysis. zers from Hiden Isochema available for CEBC research. — Jon Tunge Along with Bala Subramaniam and R.V. Chaudhari, Mark is one of three CEBC distinguished professors named to the prestigious National Academy of Inventors. Jon Tunge Professor of Chemistry Research projects in the Tunge group span several traditional disciplines, 2020 Industry Advisory Board with catalysis as the central theme. Company Board Member Jon led one of CEBC’s first thrust groups, Archer Daniels Midland Derek Butler, Research Scientist while also collaborating with Professors Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. Mitch Refvik, Polyolefin Catalysts Scurto and Subramaniam. Working with rho- Product Development Mgr. dium hydroformylation catalysts, by 2009 he developed a DuPont Hasan Dindi, Technical Fellow method for “polymer-bound” catalysts to be retained in- side the reactor, a major economic breakthrough. In 2012, ExxonMobil Daniel Zhou, Research Associate his project for catalyzed activation of C-O bonds with CO2 Halocarbon Carl Walther earned one of six CEBC industry seed project awards. Jon Honeywell UOP Paul Barger was a key member of the NSF EPA research team. His highly INVISTA Bill Tenn, Core Intermediates R&D successful research in resource-efficient catalysis was recog- Origin Materials Bill Gong, Research Scientist nized with a KU Scholarly Achievement Award in 2018. W.R. Grace Steve Schmidt, Research Fellow . . . 10 . . Art + Science + Virtual Programming = Learning for All NSF Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, “Collaborative Research: Cool Science: Art as a Vehicle for Intergenerational Learning,” $3 million, 4 years ...... Investigators: CEBC Education Director Claudia Bode, Robert Chen and Jill Hendrickson Lohmeier of U-Mass Lowell, Kevin Townsend of Kansas State University, and Steven Shrock, KU . Six free remote workshops educated 48 adults, including Boys and Girls Club staff, on how to engage K-12 youth with art and science. The overall positive feedback from www.coolscience.net these sessions indicates that the online format was as effective as in-person training. The Cool Science program integrates . An art competition in the fall included entries from 274 children—nine more than last year. The annual competition includes youth from Kansas, Missouri, and Massachusetts, science and art to and features art derived from challenge questions. For example, children might artistically educate all ages about represent how severe storms form or how to keep cool in sweltering heatwaves. “The extreme weather. To accomplishments of these young artists will blow you away,” said Steven Schrock, KU prevent the spread of professor in civil engineering and Cool Science co-leader. coronavirus, its activities and resources were . Two online art exhibition celebrations were livestreamed in August, acknowledging the moved online this year. 24 honorees from the 2019-2020 Cool Science art competition. Winners receive cash prizes and the opportunity to have their work featured on their state’s public transportation.

We seek to Inspire and Educate Research Experiences Postponed NSF REU SITE, Award, $360,000, 3 years NSF RET SITE, Award, $600,000, 3 years ...... Investigators: Mark Shiflett (PI) and CEBC Education Investigators: Edward Peltier (PI) and CEBC Education Director Claudia Bode Director Claudia Bode To stem the spread of COVID-19, we canceled our NSF-funded summer 2020 programs that give research experiences to undergraduates (REU) and high school teachers (RET). Still, some meaningful activities took place this year. Both programs are set to resume in summer 2021. . While the full REU program was halted this year, we offered a . RET alumnus Andrew modified version for nine KU students. They conducted highly Taylor implemented his lesson restricted onsite or online research, and attended several based on the research he did training sessions, including a webinar by Dr. Allgeier with two with Professor Mark Shiflett in dozen undergrads from across the country in attendance. 2019. Dr. Shiflett also met with Four students received departmental scholarships. Mr. Taylor’s students at Olathe . . Alysha Bell, Tristan Meyers — Advisor: Alan Allgeier Northwest High School by Zoom to discuss KU research and . . Erin Sturd, Austin Lancaster, Rhianna Roth, Ty Stranghoner, the qualities that make a strong leader. Mr. Taylor also earned Sophia Terian — Advisor: Mark Shiflett the title of Kansas Outstanding Biology Teacher from the . . Jake Wagner — Advisor: Kyle Camarda National Association of Biology Teachers in July 2020. . . Joseph Lozenski — Advisor: Prajna Dhar . KU Professor Gibum Kwon included research by two RET alumni in an article published in the journal Global Challenges. https://cpe.engr.ku.edu/reu-program The research by teachers Katie Hutchison and Jerad Gorney explored how to design self-cleaning membranes for separating oil and water mixtures. cebc.ku.edu/ret . 11 . . . Science Advisory Board includes distinguished faculty in chemistry and chemical Theengineering from renown institutions, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of CEBC’s research program. The SAB provides an independent assessment of the scientific importance and integrity of the research program, assisting with formal project evaluations and providing additional technical insights.

Current Science Advisory Board . . Cynthia Jenks, Director, Scientific Advancement Division, Argonne National Laboratory Welcoming New Science . . John Kitchin, Professor, Chemical Engineering, Advisory Board Member Carnegie Mellon University . . Ive Hermans, Professor, Chemistry & Chemical Ive Hermans Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor of Chemistry and Chemical & Biological Engineering Former SAB Members University of Wisconsin-Madison . Mahdi Abu-Omar, University of California, Santa Barbara . David Allen, University of Texas Ive Hermans obtained his Ph.D. under the supervision of Profs. . Alexis Bell, University of California, Berkeley Pierre Jacobs and Jozef Peeters (2006; K.U.Leuven, Belgium). In addition to his scientific education, he also holds a postgraduate . Joseph DeSimone, University of North Carolina degree in Business Administration (2006). After post-doctoral re- . Jonathan Dordick, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute search on in situ spectroscopy and reaction engineering with Prof. . Mahmoud El-Halwagi, Texas A&M University Alfons Baiker, he became assistant professor for heterogeneous . James Espenson, Iowa State University catalysis (spring 2008) at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. January 2014, . Rodney Fox, Iowa State University Prof. Hermans moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, . Michael Harold, University of Houston holding a dual appointment in the Department of Chemistry . Jack Norton, Columbia University and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. His . Vince Pecoraro, University of Michigan group focuses on the mechanistic understanding and discovery . Chris Roberts, Auburn University of catalytic technologies using a variety of techniques. In 2009 he . Chunshan Song, Penn State University received the ExxonMobil Chemical European Science and Engi- . Jerry Spivey, Louisiana State University neering Award, in 2014 the Emerging Researcher Award by the . Daniel Stack, Stanford University ACS Division of Energy and Fuels, the 2017 Inaugural Robert Au- . Peter Stair, Northwestern University gustine award by the Organic Reaction Catalysis Society, the 2019 Ipatieff Price by the American Chemical Society and was selected . Yong Wang, Washington State University & Pacific as an Alexander von Humboldt Professor in 2021. Northwest National Laboratory ......

Ed Atchison Transitions Dr. Fenghui Niu longtime fabrication and IT specialist retires longtime lab manager retires From joining CEBC in 2004, Ed’s position morphed from set- Feng joined the CEBC in July 2003, helping to set up the Center’s ting up and maintaining the computer network to tooling vital research facilities. Expert in CEBC equipment and instrumen- parts for important research instruments and equipment. tation management, lab operations, and chemical supply pro- Ed has been the problem-solver: assembling specialized curement, Feng has been an invaluable asset to CEBC research. computer hardware & software in the labs, troubleshoot- He is best know by students as the go-to person for help with ing desktop PCs and laptops, designing intricate equip- ordering supplies and learning to use equipment. For postdocs, ment and parts for unique research instruments. Numer- associate researchers and faculty, Feng has been ready to help ous facutly and researchers collaborated with Ed to design with any needs to keep their lab experiments running smoothly. specialized equipment and instruments in-house. He will Another longtime Associate Researcher, Dr. Hyun-Jin Lee, will truly be missed! The CEBC will work together with Chemi- take on the care of CEBC labs on an interim basis. Having joined cal & Petroleum Engineering to continue to offer tooling CEBC in 2004, Hyun-Jin is well- prepared for the responsibility. and fabrication services for faculty and researchers.

. . . 12 . . Weatherley, Laurence R., Intensification of Liquid-Liquid Processes, 2020 Cambridge 2020 University Press, ISBN 9781108355865. Publications ...... See complete list at www.cebc.ku.edu/publications

Anand, A.; Gnanasekaran, P.; Allgeier, A. M.; Weatherley, L. R., Study and deployment of methacrylate-based polymer resins for immobilized lipase catalyzed triglyceride hydrolysis. Food Bioprod. Process. 2020, 123, 164-176. 10.1016/j.fbp.2020.06.016 Interrogation on of Surface Experiments Caricato, M., Coupled cluster theory in the condensed phase within the singles- 1 Deconvolution Microscopy 2 Numerical Wiley Interdiscip. Rev.: Comput. 3 Electrochemical Evolution T density scheme for the environment response. 4 Scanning Hydrogen [a] 5 During Leonard* Kevin C. 6 Platinum and Mol. Sci. 2020, 10 (5), e1463. 10.1002/wcms.1463 Seuferling, 7 Tess E. T. Jantz, 8 Dylan 9 Cartwright, K. C.; Davies, A. M.; Tunge, J. A., Cobaloxime-catalyzed hydrogen 10 11 12 evolution in photoredox-facilitated small- functionalization. Eur. J. Org. 13 14 Chem. , 2020 (10), 1245-1258. 10.1002/ejoc.201901170 15 2020 16 17 18 Cartwright, K. C.; Joseph, E.; Comadoll, C. G.; Tunge, J. A., Photoredox/Cobalt Dual- 19 20 21 Catalyzed Decarboxylative Elimination of Carboxylic Acids: Development and Mech- 22 23 24 anistic Insight.Chem. - Eur. J. 2020, 26 (54), 12454-12471. 10.1002/chem.202001952 25 26 27 28 Cartwright, K. C.; Tunge, J. A., Organophotoredox/palladium dual catalytic decar- 29 30 boxylative Csp3-Csp3 coupling of carboxylic acids and π-electrophiles.Chem. Sci. 31 32 33 2020, 11 (31), 8167-8175. 10.1039/d0sc02609c 34 35 36 37 Chen, X.; Rice, D. B.; Danby, A. M.; Lundin, M. D.; Jackson, T. A.; Subramaniam, B., 38 39 40 Experimental and computational investigations of C-H activation of cyclohexane by 41 42 43 Showcasing research from Professor Jackson’s laboratory, ozone in liquid CO2. React. Chem. Eng. , 5 (4), 793-802. 10.1039/c9re00442d Department of Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, 2020 44 45 KS, United States 46 Concerted proton–electron transfer reactions of 47 Henke, W. C.; Hopkins, J. A.; Anderson, M. L.; Stiel, J. P.; Day, V. W.; Blakemore, J. manganese–hydroxo and manganese–oxo complexes As featured in: 48 49 Kinetic, spectroscopic, and computational studies of Volume 56 Number 65 21 August 2020 Pages 922 50 5–9402 D., 4,5-Diazafluorene and 9,9’-dimethyl-4,5-diazafluorene as ligands supporting Mn III –hydroxo and Mn C. Leonard ChemComm 51 Dr. K. IV Chemical Communications Prof. the basis for rate variations –oxo in complexes concerted provide proton–electron insight into rsc.li/chemcomm E. Seuferling, 52 Jantz, T. Catalysis Dr. D. T. Beneficial Engineering transfer (CPET) reactions. [a] Environmentally redox-active Mn and Ru complexes. Molecules 2020, 25 (14), 3189. 10.3390/ 53 Center for and Petroleum of Chemical 54 Department of Kansas KS, USA This illustration is designed by Deepak Kumar. University Lawrence, 55 The Blvd, 66045 1450 Jayhawk molecules25143189 [email protected] 56 E-mail: 30.12.2020 1 Mittwoch, 57 [S. 4837/4837]

ISSN 1359-7345

COMMUNIC Anthony ATION P. Davis Aqueou et al . s reco anthracen gnition of e purine and -based macrocyclic recepyrimidine base Hopkins, J. A.; Lionetti, D.; Day, V. W.; Blakemore, J. D., Synthesis and reactiv- ptor s by an See Timothy A. Jackson Chem et al VCH . Commun ., Wiley / 185433 ., 2020, 56 ity studies of a [Cp*Rh] complex supported by a methylene-bridged hybrid - closed* , 9238. 2024 phosphine-imine ligand. J. Organomet. Chem. 2020, 921, 121294. 10.1016/j. jorganchem.2020.121294 . . . . rsc.li/chemcomm

Jantz, D. T.; Seuferling, T. E.; Leonard, K. C., Numerical Deconvolution of -Sur Registered charity number: 207890 face Interrogation Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy Experiments on Plati- . . . num During Hydrogen Evolution. ChemElectroChem 2020, 7 (24), 4863-4872...... 10.1002/celc.202001082 Jin, X.; Liu, M.; Zhang, G.; Wang, J.; Xia, Q.; Sun, Y.; Zhou, Z.; Zhang, W.; Wang, S.; 2020 Lam, C. H.; Shen, J.; Yang, C.; Chaudhari, R. V., Chemical Synthesis of Adipic Acid from Glucose and Derivatives: Challenges for Nanocatalyst Design. ACS Sustain- able Chem. Eng. 2020, 8 (51), 18732-18754. 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c04411 Ma, C.-C.;Covers Butler, D.; Milligan, V.; Hammann, B. A.; Luo, H.; Brazdil, J. F.; Liu, D.; Chaudhari, R. V.; Subramaniam, B., Continuous Process for the Production of Jystad, A.; Leblanc, H.; Caricato, M., Surface Acidity Characterization of Metal- Taurine from Monoethanolamine. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2020, 59 (29), 13007- Doped Amorphous Silicates via Py-FTIR and 15N NMR Simulations.J. Phys. Chem. 13015. 10.1021/acs.iecr.0c02277 C 2020, 124 (28), 15231-15240. 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c03292 Maheswari, R.; Ramanathan, A.; Zhu, H.; Araujo do Nascimento Araujo, A.; Chap- Katiyar, A.; Freire Sovierzoski, J. C.; Calio, P. B.; Vartia, A. A.; Thompson, W.H., Wa- man, C.; Tang, Y.; Tao, F.; Subramaniam, B., Enhanced Friedel-Crafts benzylation ter plays a dynamical role in a hydrogen-bonded, hexameric supramolecular as- activity of bimetallic WSn-KIT-6 catalysts.J. Catal. 2020, 389, 657-666. 10.1016/j. sembly. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2020, 22 (11), 6167-6175. 10.1039/c9cp06874k jcat.2020.07.001 Kern, J. L.; Barry, P. R.; Laird, B. B., Characterization of the Al-Ga solid-liquid in- Maheswari, R.; Tengco, J. M. M.; Ramanathan, A.; Regalbuto, J.; Subramaniam, terface using classical and ab initio molecular dynamics simulation. Phys. Rev. B., Effects of Pd Nanoparticle Loading and Support Acidity on Liquid Phase -Hy Mater. 2020, 4 (4), 043604. 10.1103/physrevmaterials.4.043604 drodeoxygenation of Oxygenated Aromatics. ACS Symp. Ser. 2020, 1359 (Ad- Kore, R.; Scurto, A. M.; Shiflett, M. B., Review of Isobutane Alkylation Technology vanced Heterogeneous Catalysts, Volume 1: Applications at the Nano-Scale), Using Ionic Liquid-Based Catalysts-Where Do We Stand? Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 213-238. 10.1021/bk-2020-1359.ch007 2020, 59 (36), 15811-15838. 10.1021/acs.iecr.0c03418 Manrique, R.; Rodriguez-Pereira, J.; Rincon-Ortiz, S. A.; Bravo-Suarez, J. J.; Bal- Kumar, A.; Blakemore, J. D., On the use of aqueous metal-aqua pKa values as a dovino-Medrano, V. G.; Jimenez, R.; Karelovic, A., The nature of the active sites descriptor of Lewis acidity. ChemRxiv 2020, 1-10. of Pd-Ga catalysts in the of CO2 to methanol. Catal. Sci. Technol. , 10 Kumar, A.; Lionetti, D.; Day, V. W.; Blakemore, J. D., Redox-Inactive Metal Cations 2020 (19), 6644-6658. 10.1039/d0cy00956c Modulate the Reduction Potential of the Uranyl Ion in Macrocyclic Complexes.J. Martin, S. C.; Hansen-Goos, H.; Laird, B. B., Surface Free Energy of a Hard-Disk Am. Chem. Soc. 2020, 142 (6), 3032-3041. 10.1021/jacs.9b11903 Fluid at Curved Hard Walls: Theory and Simulation. J. Phys. Chem. B 2020, 124 Kwon, Y. M.; Lee, Y.; Evenson, G. E.; Jackson, T. A.; Wang, D., Crystal Structure and (36), 7938-7947. 10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c04124 C-H Bond-Cleaving Reactivity of a Mononuclear CoIV-Dinitrate Complex. J. Am. Massie, A. A.; Denler, M. C.; Singh, R.; Sinha, A.; Nordlander, E.; Jackson, T. A.,

Chem. Soc. 2020, 142 (31), 13435-13441. 10.1021/jacs.0c04368 Structural Characterization of a Series of N5-Ligated MnIV-Oxo Species. Chem. - . Eur. J. , 26 Liu, D.; Chaudhari, R. V.; Subramaniam, B., Enriching Propane/Propylene Mix- 2020 (4), 900-912. 10.1002/chem.201904434 ture by Selective Propylene Hydroformylation: Economic and Environmental Im- Mayfield, J. R.; Grotemeyer, E. N.; Jackson, T. A., Concerted proton-electron pact Analyses. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 8 (13), 5140-5146. 10.1021/ transfer reactions of manganese-hydroxo and manganese-oxo complexes.Chem. acssuschemeng.9b07224 Commun. (Cambridge, U. K.) 2020, 56 (65), 9238-9255. 10.1039/d0cc01201g . Liu, Y.; Lu, F.; Tang, Y.; Liu, M.; Tao, F. F.; Zhang, Y., Effects of initial crystal structure Minnick, D. L.; Shiflett, M. B. Solubility and Diffusivity of Bromodifluoromethane of Fe2O3 and Mn promoter on effective active phase for syngas to light olefins. (Halon-1201) in Imidazolium Ionic Liquids: [C2C1im][Tf2N], [C4C1im][BF4], and Appl. Catal., B 2020, 261, 118219. 10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.118219 [C4C1im][PF6]. J. Chem. Eng. Data 2020 65:7 3277-3286. 10.1021/acs.jced.0c00022 Publications2020 ...... Shaughnessy, C. I.; Sconyers, D. J.; Lee, H.-J.; Subramaniam, B.; Blakemore, J. D.; ...... Leonard, K. C., Insights into pressure tunable reaction rates for electrochemical reduction of CO2 in organic electrolytes. Green Chem. 2020, 22 (8), 2434-2442. 10.1039/d0gc00013b

As featured in:

me 22 . . . . Volu . . Number 8 2020 Sconyers, D. J.; Shaughnessy, C. I.; Lee, H.-J.; Subramaniam, B.; Leonard, K. C.; Blake- 21 April -2614 Pages 2313 Showcasing collaborative research from the Subramaniam, Green

Blakemore and Leonard laboratories at the Center for sustainable future cial Catalysis, University of Kansas, eener 2 gr Chemistryarch for a Cutting-edge rese more, J. D., Enhancing Molecular Electrocatalysis of CO Reduction with Pressure- chem Environmentally Benefi rsc.li/green USA. Tunable CO2-Expanded Electrolytes. ChemSusChem 2020, 13 (23), 6338-6345. Insights into pressure tunable reaction2 in organic rates forelectrolytes electrochemical reduction of CO 10.1002/cssc.202000390 CO 2 eXpanded Electrolytes (CXEs) contain a mixture of 2 , organic solvent, and dissolved electrolyte. -9262 liquefi ed CO ISSN 1463

Kim et al. concentrations are achieved in CXEs at PAPER e, Seonah on yields and 2 karakat carb s of dro ysi Calvin Mu improves hy t pyrol atalyst g catalytic fas Ga/ZSM-5 c ivity durin alkene select increases n co-fed hydroge Multi-molar CO biomass with reduction rate. relatively mild pressures, resulting in 2an order of magnitude Silverman, J. R.; Danby, A. M.; Subramaniam, B., Facile Prepolymer Formation with enhancement in electrocatalytic CO et al. , Modelling results explain the mechanistic2 pressure that basis maximizes for the the See Bala Subramaniam, James D. , 2434. existence of an optimum CO Blakemore, Kevin , 2020, C. Leonard22 ACS Sus- 2 pressures, the ohmic Green Chem. Ozone-Pretreated Grass Lignin by In Situ Grafting of Endogenous Aromatics. rate. At lower than optimum pressures, the rate is limited by CO 2 concentrations. At higher CO resistance of the CXE medium increases, attenuating the tainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 8 (46), 17001-17007. 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c03811 kinetics of electron transfer.

rsc.li/greenchem Silverman J. R.; Hudson, R., Evaluating Feedstocks, Processes, and Products inthe Teach- Registered charity number: 207890 ing Laboratory: A Framework for Students To Use Metrics to Design Greener Chemistry Experiments, J. Chem. Ed. 2020 97:2 390-401. 10.1021/acs.jchemed.9b00292 Song, Z.; Subramaniam, B.; Chaudhari, R. V., Kinetic modeling and mechanisticinvestiga - tions of transesterification of propylene carbonate with methanol over an Fe-Mn double metal cyanide catalyst. React. Chem. Eng. 2020, 5 (1), 101-111. 10.1039/c9re00372j Stephens, K. J.; Allgeier, A. M.; Bell, A. L.; Carlson, T. R.; Cheng, Y.; Douglas, J. T.; Howe, L. A.; Menning, C. A.; Neuenswander, S. A.; Sengupta, S. K.; Thapa, P. S.; Ritter, J. C., A Mechanistic Study of Polyol Hydrodeoxygenation over a Bifunctional Pt-WOx/ TiO2 Catalyst. ACS Catal. 2020, 10 (21), 12996-13007. 10.1021/acscatal.0c03475 Subramaniam, B., Earth Day Reflections: Hope Amid the Pandemic.ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 8 (15), 5817-5818. 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c02596 . (see pg 2) Suekuni, M. T.; Myers, T. R.; McNeil, M. C.; Prisco, A. J.; Shelburne, S. S.; Shepperson, W. A.; Allgeier, A. M., Surface Area Determination of Kevlar Particles in Suspensions Containing Iron Impurities Using Low-Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxom- etry. ACS Appl. Polym. Mater. 2020, 2 (6), 2134-2141. 10.1021/acsapm.0c00084 Sumaria, V.; Nguyen, L.; Tao, F. F.; Sautet, P., Optimal Packing of CO at a High Coverage on Pt(100) and Pt(111) Surfaces. ACS Catal. 2020, 10 (16), 9533-9544. 10.1021/acscatal.0c01971 ...... 2020 Tang, Y.; Zhang, S.; Rawal, T. B.; Nguyen, L.; Iwasawa, Y.; Acharya, S. R.; Liu, J.; Hong, S.; Rah- man, T. S.; Tao, F., Atomic-Scale Structure and Catalysis on Positively Charged Bimetallic Sites for Generation of H2. Nano Lett.2020 , 20 (9), 6255-6262. 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c00852 Tunge, J. A., The Evolution of Decarboxylative Allylation: Overcoming pKa Limita- Covers tions. Isr. J. Chem. 2020, 60 (3-4), 351-359. 10.1002/ijch.201900177 Morais, A. R. C.; Simoni, L. D.; Shiflett, M. B.; Scurto, A. M., Viscosity and Density Uchagawkar, A.; Ramanathan, A.; Hu, Y.; Subramaniam, B., Highly dispersed mo- of a Polyol Ester Lubricating Oil Saturated with Compressed Hydrofluoroolefin Re- lybdenum containing mesoporous silicate (Mo-TUD-1) for olefin metathesis. Catal. frigerants. J. Chem. Eng. Data , 65 (9), 4335-4346. 10.1021/acs.jced.0c00431 2020 Today 2020, 343, 215-225. 10.1016/j.cattod.2019.03.073 Nandanwar, S. U.; Corbin, D. R.; Shiflett, M. B., A Review of Porous Adsorbents for Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. , 59 Verma, A.; Johnson, G. H.; Corbin, D. R.; Shiflett, M. B., Separation of Lithium and the Separation of Nitrogen from Natural Gas. 2020 (30), Cobalt from LiCoO2: A Unique Critical Metals Recovery Process Utilizing Oxa-

. 13355-13369. 10.1021/acs.iecr.0c02730 late Chemistry. ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 8 (15), 6100-6108. 10.1021/ Nandiwale, K. Y.; Danby, A. M.; Ramanathan, A.; Chaudhari, R. V.; Motagamwala, acssuschemeng.0c01128 A. H.; Dumesic, J. A.; Subramaniam, B., Enhanced Acid-Catalyzed Lignin Depoly- ACS Sustainable Chem. Wu, J.-F.; Ramanathan, A.; Kersting, R.; Jystad, A.; Zhu, H.; Hu, Y.; Marshall, C. P.; merization in a Continuous Reactor with Stable Activity. Caricato, M.; Subramaniam, B., Enhanced Olefin Metathesis Performance of Tung- . Eng. , 8 2020 (10), 4096-4106. 10.1021/acssuschemeng.9b06556 sten and Niobium Incorporated Bimetallic Silicates: Evidence of Synergistic Effects. Piskulich, Z. A.; Laage, D.; Thompson, W. H., Activation energies and the extended ChemCatChem 2020, 12 (7), 2004-2013. 10.1002/cctc.201902131 jump model: How temperature affects reorientation and hydrogen-bond exchange J. Chem. Phys. , 153 Xu, J.; Scurto, A. M.; Shiflett, M. B.; Lustig, S. R.; Hung, F. R., Power generation from dynamics in water. 2020 (7), 074110. 10.1063/5.0020015 waste heat: Ionic liquid-based absorption cycle versus organic Rankine cycle, AIChE Piskulich, Z. A.; Thompson, W. H., Temperature Dependence of the Water Infra- J. 2020 67 (3) e17038. 10.1002/aic.17038 J. Phys. Chem. red Spectrum: Driving Forces, Isosbestic Points, and Predictions. Yamada, S. A.; Hung, S. T.; Thompson, W. H.; Fayer, M. D., Effects of pore size onwater dy- Lett. , 11 (18), 7762-7768. 10.1021/acs.jpclett.0c02301 2020 namics in mesoporous silica. J. Chem. Phys. 2020, 152 (15), 154704. 10.1063/1.5145326 Piskulich, Z. A.; Thompson, W. H., On the temperature dependence of liquid- J. Chem. Phys. , 152 Yang, S.; Guo, X.; Verma, A.; Shiflett, M. B.; Corbin, D. R.; Navrotsky, A., Thermochem- structure. 2020 (1), 011102. 10.1063/1.5135932 ical Insights into Stability and Hydration of Ion-Exchanged Zeolite ZK-5 (KFI Frame- Piskulich, Z. A.; Thompson, W. H., The dynamics of supercooled water can be pre- work). J. Phys. Chem. C 2020, 124 (48), 26193-26202. 10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c06796 dicted from room temperature simulations. J Chem Phys 2020, 152 (7), 074505. Yu, S.-m.; Snavely, W. K.; Chaudhari, R. V.; Subramaniam, B., Butadiene hydrofor- Reding, N. S.; Shiflett, M. B., Consequence prediction for dust explosions involv- mylation to adipaldehyde with Rh-based catalysts: Insights into ligand effects. Mol. ing interconnected vessels using computational fluid dynamics modeling.J. Loss Catal. 2020, 484, 110721. 10.1016/j.mcat.2019.110721 Prevention Proc. Ind. 65 2020 104149. 10.1016/j.jlp.2020.104149 Zhang, K.; Ren, S.; Caricato, M., Multistate QM/QM Extrapolation of UV/Vis Absorp- Rice, D. B.; Grotemeyer, E. N.; Donovan, A. M.; Jackson, T. A., Effect of Lewis Acids tion Spectra with Point Charge Embedding. J. Chem. Theory Comput. 2020, 16 (7), on the Structure and Reactivity of a Mononuclear Hydroxomanganese(III) Com- 4361-4372. 10.1021/acs.jctc.0c00339 Inorg. Chem. , 59 plex. 2020 (5), 2689-2700. 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b02980 Zolnhofer, E. M.; Wijeratne, G. B.; Jackson, T. A.; Fortier, S.; Heinemann, F. W.; Mey- Sconyers, D. J.; Blakemore, J. D., Electrodeposition behavior of homoleptic tran- er, K.; Krzystek, J.; Ozarowski, A.; Mindiola, D. J.; Telser, J., Electronic Structure and sition metal acetonitrile complexes interrogated with piezoelectric gravimetry. Magnetic Properties of a Titanium(II) Coordination Complex. Inorg. Chem. 2020, 59 Analyst (Cambridge, U. K.) 2020, 145 (2), 466-477. 10.1039/c9an01952a (9), 6187-6201. 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c00311 2021 Publications ...... 1. Borkowski, A. K.; Piskulich, Z. A.; Thompson, W. H., Examining the Hofmeis- 7. Piskulich, Z. A.; Laage, D.; Thompson, W. 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