Novel catalyst inspired by nature paves the way for efficient hydrocarbon degradation

A research team affiliated with UNIST has developed a new catalyst that mimics the ability of a natural enzyme to break down harmful hydrocarbons, paving the way for an environmentally friendly and energy-efficient approach to reducing pollution.

Led by Professor Jaeheung Cho of the Department of Chemistry at UNIST, the research team has succeeded in developing a new catalyst that mimics the ability of a metalloenzyme ubiquitous in nature to oxidize hydrocarbons.
Research has been done Published In the online version Journal of the American Chemical Society on June 3, 2024.

By adding hydrogen ions to the hydroxo ligand, water molecules bound to the metal were synthesized. A new catalyst that uses metal-bound water molecules can oxidize carbon-hydrogen (CH) bonds at lower temperatures than existing methods, making it a game-changer for the development of sustainable technologies.

The addition of hydrogen ions to the manganese catalyst significantly improved its ability to form oxygen-hydrogen bonds, resulting in faster reaction rates. This improved activity is attributed to the increased reducing power of manganese, which replaces the hydroxyl ligand and adds water.

The new catalyst demonstrated its effectiveness in oxidizing anthracene, which has strong carbon-hydrogen bonds, at low temperatures, effectively removing toxins. In addition, it was able to degrade aromatic hydrocarbons that are insoluble in water and chemically stable.

According to Professor Chow, „This is the first case where a manganese(III) complex containing two water molecules reacts with aromatic hydrocarbons at low temperature.” Controlling the reduction potential of manganese would contribute to the development of industrially important metal catalysts capable of breaking strong carbon-hydrogen bonds, he asserted.