SiTi-CAT · Well-Defined Silica-Supported Titanium Catalysts for Introducing Nitrogen Functional Groups

Well-Defined Silica-Supported Titanium Catalysts for Introducing Nitrogen Functional Groups

Amines are commercially valuable nitrogen-containing chemicals that are essential to modern life due to their use in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and polymers (global market USD 16.6 billion). However, existing routes to make amines on large scale are inefficient and expensive largely due to the wasteful by-products that are also made. Green routes to amines called hydroamination and hydroaminoalkylation have been developed in universities but are not yet viable on large scale. These are 100% atom efficient reactions and so by definition do not produce any by-products. A metal "catalyst" is required for these reactions to occur. Although traditional catalysts contain expensive precious metals, state-of-the-art catalysts contain titanium, which is abundant in the Earth's crust, and thus environmentally and economically advantageous. Currently these catalysts are not transferrable into large scale processes due to the high costs of removing the catalyst to recycle it and purify the products. We need to adapt state-of-the-art titanium catalysts for the efficient and selective production of amines to be economically viable in industrial processes. Principally, this involves changing the state of the catalyst. By affixing the catalysts onto a solid support, they can be easily and cheaply removed by filtration. However, to do this, we need to develop methods to attach the catalysts to the solid supports without significantly changing their structure. This project will develop industrially viable catalysts for making amines by affixing titanium catalysts for hydroamination and hydroaminoalkylation onto a solid support. It will blend the disciplines of chemical synthesis, catalysis, and surface organometallic chemistry by using the expertise of researchers and specialist facilities in Canada and France. This project will transform green processes to manufacture amines from academic research into industrial routes. Transfer of this technology into industry would decrease the cost and increase the range of amines available on a large scale. Knowledge and key skills will be shared between European and Canadian researchers, resulting in a synergic partnership impacting academic and industrial fields.

Data: CORDIS, © European Union