Unlocking a Cleaner Way to Do Chemistry

Taking the heat out of chemical manufacturing

For nearly two centuries chemists have relied on a simple principle when building molecules and materials: to make something new you have to apply energy, sometimes in the form of chemical energy, but most often in the form of heat. From producing plastics to creating life-saving medicines, many of the chemical reactions that form the foundation of our modern world are driven by thermal energy, often generated by burning fossil fuels. This approach, while effective, is often incredibly energy-intensive and can lead to a host of other issues, from unwanted byproducts to a large carbon footprint. In essence it is like using a sledgehammer to build a delicate piece of furniture, while it might get the pieces together, it’s inefficient, causes unnecessary damage, and creates a lot of waste in the process.

But what if there was a better way? What if we could take the heat out of chemical manufacturing and use a more precise, sustainable energy source?

RASEI fellows are part of a growing wave of research that is doing just that by using light to drive chemical transformations. This isn’t about using light to just heat things up, it’s about harnessing the specific energy of photons to activate molecules in a targeted and efficient way. This approach, known as photocatalysis, is unlocking a cleaner, more controlled way to build the molecules we need. It is poised to transform everything from the creation of pharmaceuticals to the development of new and sustainable materials and plastics.

The shift to light-driven chemistry is not merely an academic exercise; it is a critical step toward a more sustainable and efficient industrial future. RASEI researchers, working across a range of national collaborations, have published more than 15 research papers in the past year, reflecting their commitment to innovation in this space. The research approaches the problem from a range of perspectives, exploring new chemical pathways and understanding the factors that control the efficiencies of these reacting.

The benefits of collaborative research the brings together a range of approaches to solve problems together is well illustrated in this roundup of recent research, including highlights from some large national collaborations, including contributions from U.S. Department of Energy funded Energy Frontier Research Centers (the Bio-inspired Light-Escalated Chemistry Center (BioLEC) and the Ensembles of Photosynthetic Nanoreactors (EPN)), and a National Science Foundation funded Center for Chemical Innovation (The Center for Sustainable Photoredox Catalysis (SuPRCat))

The summaries below provide a glimpse into this exciting work, detailing some of our latest discoveries and describing some of the tangible ways we are using light to create cleaner, more effective, and sustainable chemical processes.