Biography
Biography: Hansjorg Grutzmacher
Abstract
The development of efficient catalytic processes that mimics the enzymatic function of alcohol dehydrogenase is critical for using biomass alcohols for the production of H2 as chemical energy carrier and fine chemicals under waste-free conditions. Our own research efforts focus on dehydrogenative coupling reactions (DHC) which is an atom economic and efficient way to obtain carbonic acids, ester, and amides from alcohols. This approach can also be used to generate main group element bonds according to E-H + Y-H => E-Y + H2. We could develop successfully transition metal complexes with olefins as steering ligands and amido functions as cooperating ligands to efficiently promote the DHC of various substrates which range from renewable feedstock to silanes and amino boranes. Most of these reactions proceed with a very high turnover frequency and high chemoselectivity. Possible mechanisms will be discussed which inspired the development of an Organometallic Fuel Cell (OMFC), efficient catalysts for the conversion of methanol water mixtures into H2 and CO2, and efficient routes to main group element compounds as precursors to materials.