The Research Foundation For The State University of New York, doing business as SUNY ESF, was awarded a $324,218 project grant from the National Science Foundation under the Engineering program to conduct collaborative research on photoelectrosynthetic aminoxyl catalyzed alcohol oxidation of lignocellulosic biomass from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2026. The research aims to study how a dye-sensitized photoanode can selectively oxidize lignin with a suitable catalyst as the first step toward a complete light-driven lignin depolymerization process. This represents a new application of dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthetic cells and will expand the use of heterogeneous catalysis for selectively oxidizing primary and secondary alcohols in lignin to produce carbonyl or carboxyl compounds. The work involves synthesizing photoactive polymeric catalysts, fabricating and evaluating mesoporous semiconductor-based electrodes for selectively oxidizing lignin dimer model compounds with various aminoxyl mediators, and elucidating mechanistic pathways for light-driven oxidation of benzylic and aliphatic alcohols using a dye-sensitized photoelectrosynthetic cell. Findings will be disseminated to further the public's understanding of renewable energy and biomass conversion technologies.
Mod # | Description | Reason For Modification | Federal Obligation (Click to sort descending) | Date (Click to sort ascending) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $324.2k | 5/30/23 |