RELINQUISHED - Utilising Nature's Complexity - Understanding Fundamental Organometallic Binding Modes of Furans and Coordination of Bioderived Furans

The earth's decreasing reserves of fossil fuels have prompted an intense push to utilise renewable bioresources to replace the products and fuels derived from petroleum. A promising bioproduct is the family of so-called Furanics, highly functional molecules produced easily from carbohydrates found in waste materials from the sugar, corn and forestry industries. The use of active transition metals has the potential to convert these products into valuable chemicals, yet the chemistry of these furanic molecules with such metals is extremely underexplored. This project aims to study the fundamental interactions of furans with metals, and potential processes of bioderived furans, in order to better realise the potential of furanic feedstocks.