Special Jortner Chemistry Seminar: From Continuous Flow Chemistry to Transforming the Chemical Industry into a Circular Economy

Abstract:

Continuous chemical processes have attracted both academic and industrial interest.1 Continuous photochemistry2 resulted in the production of the malaria medication artemisinin in a simple and inexpensive process.3 Continuous flow systems are useful for automated reaction optimization4 and provide reliable data for the use of machine learning tools in order to predict the outcome of reactions. 5 The “radial synthesis” concept enables the autonomous production of medications6 and has been scaled to produce generic drugs.

The Center for the Transformation of Chemistry (CTC) received €1.25 billion to address one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century. The future supply of chemicals and pharmaceuticals must be ensured through local, cost-effective and sustainable production processes mainly from renewable raw materials or recycled materials. The CTC works mission oriented and focuses on two „moonshots“:7  the completely recyclable laboratory and a completely recyclable car.8

References

1. Plutschack, M.; Pieber, B.; Gilmore, K.; Seeberger, P.H.; Chem.Rev. 2017, 117, 11796.

2. Lévesque, F.; Seeberger, P.H.; Org. Lett. 2011, 13, 5008.

3. Triemer, S.; Gilmore, K.; Truong Vu, G.; Seeberger, P.H.; Seidel-Morgenstern, A.; Angew.Chem.Int.Ed. 2018, 57, 5525.

4. Chatterjee, S.; Moon, S.; Hentschel, F.; Gilmore, K.; Seeberger, P.H.; J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2018, 140, 11942.

5. Moon, S.; Chatterjee, S.; Seeberger, P.H.; Gilmore, K. Chem. Sci. 2021, 12, 2931

6. Chatterjee, S.; Guidi, M.; Seeberger, P.H.; Gilmore, K.; Nature 2020, 579, 379.

7. Plutschack, M.B.; Seeberger, P.H.; Green Chem., 2024, 26, 7443.

8. Schoemaker, R.; Sun, C.; … Tyrikos-Ergas, T.; Seeberger, P.H.; ACS Centr. Sci. 2025, 11, 1052.

Event Organizer: Dr. Muhammad Jbara