News

22-02-2022

Biorizon scientists publish in Angewandte Chemie IE

We are proud that, once again, Biorizon’s senior scientists Marc Crockatt and Jan Kees van der Waal contributed to work recently published in the leading journal Angewandte Chemie IE. The article by Biorizon co-initiator TNO and Dr. Razvan Cioc and Prof. Dr. Pieter Bruijnincx of Utrecht University is entitled “The Interplay between Kinetics and Thermodynamics in Furan Diels-Alder Chemistry for Sustainable Chemicals Production.” It assesses the state of play in this rapidly evolving field.

Diels-Alder (DA) cycloaddition

Biomass-derived furanic platform molecules have emerged as promising building blocks for renewable chemicals and functional materials. To this end, the Diels-Alder (DA) cycloaddition, as applied by Biorizon to produce bio-aromatics, stands out as a versatile strategy to convert these renewable resources in highly atom-efficient ways.

Furan DA chemistry is nearly a century old and while examples abound, clear structure-reactivity-stability relationships are still to be established. The rather particular chemical nature of furans gives rise to an intricate interplay between kinetics and thermodynamics in these cycloaddition reactions. Detailed understanding of the often subtle chemistry involved is essential to push further development and truly expand the scope beyond the conventional combinations of electron-rich furans and electron deficient olefins and further unlock this technology for biomass valorization.

In the publication, Utrecht University and TNO researchers highlight pertinent examples of DA chemistry, taken from various fields, to emphasize trends, establish correlations and answer open questions in the field with the aim to support future efforts in the sustainable chemicals and materials production. This knowledge is being applied by the Biorizon program to improve the efficiency of process as well as to access new, industrially relevant bio-based targets.

Please read the entire publication in the leading scientific journal Angewandte Chemie IE (impact factor 12.959). You might also want to read the interview with Dr. Pieter Brujnincx in the magazine of the Netherlands Chemical Industry Association (VNCI) where he mentions both the research in collaboration with Biorizon co-initiator TNO and the work of Biorizon spin-off Relement.