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Atlanta, GA | Posted: November 27, 2012
Katie Brown
School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
(404) 385-2299
news@chbe.gatech.edu
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Dr. Christopher W. JonesChristopher W. Jones, New-Vision Professor of the Georgia Tech School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, recently received the 2013 Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis for his contributions to fundamental advances in catalysis at the interface between heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis.
The Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis recognizes an individual’s contributions to the field of catalysis, particularly in discovering and understanding catalytic phenomena, proposing catalytic reaction mechanisms, and identifying and describing catalytic sites and species.
Jones’s work was part of a catalysis science program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. “Several other principal investigators and I worked on the design and understanding of supported molecular catalysts for important reactions in organic synthesis,” Jones says.
One area of research the award recognized was the group’s studies of silica and Pd(II) pincer complexes. “Through these studies, we showed that the catalysts are in fact unstable, and decompose to liberate soluble Pd(0) species, which catalyze the reactions via a traditional Pd(0)-Pd(II) cycle,” Jones says. This work was critical in demonstrating that most, or more likely all, Pd catalysts for Heck and Suzuki reactions follow a Pd(0)-Pd(II) cycle. For this reason, Jones believes that synthesis of supported recyclable catalysts will perhaps be an unattainable challenge. Therefore, says Jones, for these reactions, “the smart approach is to use highly active soluble catalysts, rather than more expensive, and less effective, supported catalysts.”
The group was also cited for its work on the design and application of efficient, supported metal-salen complex catalysts for enantioselective reactions. “Specifically, we have designed supported Co-salen catalysts that are the most active catalysts known for the enantioselective ring-opening of terminal epoxides with water,” Jones says.
The award, which is sponsored by the Grace Catalysts Technologies operating segment of W.R. Grace & Co. and administered by The North American Catalysis Society, consists of a $5,000 honorarium and a plaque that will be presented at the 2013 North American Meeting of the Catalysis Society.
