Project Grant 2328176

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $499,997 Project Grant under its Mathematical and Physical Sciences program (CFDA 47.049) to the University of Cincinnati, in collaboration with Purdue University, to develop an innovative electrochemical process for producing an important biopolymer precursor, 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA), from biomass-derived furfural and carbon dioxide. The 2-year project aims to establish an electrocatalytic bromine-mediated carboxylation approach to synthesize FDCA under ambient conditions, potentially offering environmental and societal benefits by directly utilizing carbon dioxide as a feedstock. The effort will leverage data-driven computational and machine learning methods to guide the design and development of the electrocatalytic systems. Purdue University will support the project through density functional theory calculations and machine learning, and plans to incorporate the generated data, simulations, and modeling tools into educational resources hosted on the NanoHUB platform.