This photo is of the 蘑菇视频 (蘑菇视频) Chemistry building exterior with tan brick facade, green trees, and campus signage. Located at 1508 W. Mulberry St. in Denton, Texas.Constructed in 2004, the 105,000-square-foot facility houses state-of-the-art laboratories and classrooms.The building brings together various chemistry research groups, including analytical, inorganic, organic, and physical chemistry.

Two 蘑菇视频 Regents Professors are developing catalysts to convert nitrate pollution into ammonia, supported by a Robert A. Welch Foundation grant

DENTON (蘑菇视频), Texas 鈥� Laying the foundation for future environmental technologies, two chemists at the are developing new catalysts that could help convert a water pollutant into something useful.

蘑菇视频 Regents Professors and from the are being supported by a $351,000 grant from the . The foundation supports fundamental chemical research in Texas.

鈥淲e鈥檙e excited for this grant because it helps build that groundwork while also being a benefit to our students,鈥� Cundari said.

The team is researching catalysts that could help convert nitrate in water into useful chemical products, most notably ammonia. Nitrate is a pollutant commonly found in groundwater and surface water, while ammonia can be a useful compound that is typically used in fertilizer. Catalysts speed up chemical reactions without being used up, allowing them to be reused multiple times.

鈥淲hile we hope to develop the technology to do this, we鈥檙e more focused on the fundamental science for this conversion,鈥� Cundari said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e trying different single-site, metal-macrocycle-based catalysts on various carbon supports with the hope that they鈥檒l be renewable and more environmentally friendly.鈥�

Cundari鈥檚 team will use computer models to test different catalyst designs and find the most effective and sustainable ones.

鈥淭here are two things you want from modeling: understanding existing systems, and then using those insights to predict new and improved catalysts,鈥� Cundari said.

Photo of two men, Regents Professors Francis D'Souza and Thomas Cundari, stand side by side in front of a dark granite wall at the 蘑菇视频 Chemistry Building, engraved with "蘑菇视频" and "Chemistry Department Major Donors" along with donor names. The man on the left wears a maroon short-sleeve button-down shirt and khaki pants, smiling with his hands at his sides. The man on the right wears a green polo shirt and jeans, standing with his arms crossed and glasses on.

蘑菇视频 Regents Professors Francis D'Souza and Thomas Cundari standing side by side in front of the 蘑菇视频 Chemistry Department donor wall

Once the computations are complete, the most promising catalyst designs will be sent to D鈥橲ouza鈥檚 group for synthesis and experimental testing. The results from those experiments will then be sent back to Cundari鈥檚 team, creating a continuous loop between computation and laboratory work.

The two are using this grant to build on a previous project funded by the Welch Foundation. In that work, they studied catalysts that could convert atmospheric nitrogen rather than nitrate in water.

鈥淲hen you have a good catalyst, you can ask questions with the modeling such as 鈥業f this works for nitrogen, what else might it work for?鈥� That led us in this direction,鈥� Cundari said.

About half a dozen students are involved in the project, including doctoral and undergraduate students, as well as one student from the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science.

鈥淥ur students get the chance to work on important research while also developing their modeling and experimental skills,鈥� Cundari said. 鈥淚t gives them broader training and makes them more competitive in the job market.鈥�

Beyond training future scientists, Cundari hopes the project will inspire new lines of research.

鈥淲e鈥檙e hoping we can influence how people think about these chemical reactions and how they can use them in related studies,鈥� he said.  鈥淢aybe someone will use this approach to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. That would be really valuable.鈥�

 


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