PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 24-Jun-2014 Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society WASHINGTON, June 24, 2014 The American Chemical Society (ACS) today named 10 semifinalists in its Chemistry Champions contest. The contest aims to find and train promising science communicators perhaps even find the Carl Sagan of chemistry. Undergraduate, graduate, and early career chemists and chemical engineers entered the contest by submitting 2-3 minute videos describing their work and why they wanted to be the Chemistry Champion. The semifinalists were selected by a panel of 11 judges from 27 video applicants. The 10 semifinalists and their video titles are: Jennifer Apell, graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "An Environmental Benefit of Plastic" Geoff Dubrow, graduate student at the University of Minnesota, "Understanding Whisky Chemistry" Tien Nguyen, Ph.D., recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Finding Better Ways to Build Chemical Bonds" Jennifer Novotney, graduate student at Cornell University, "Frameworks for the Future" Tierra Range, undergraduate student at Centenary College of Louisiana, "Solar Cell Research" Go here to see the original: American Chemical Society selects 10 semifinalists for Chemistry Champions contest … Continue reading →

Green-chemistry researchers at McGill University have discovered a way to use water as a solvent in one of the reactions most widely used to synthesize chemical products and pharmaceuticals. The findings, published June 26 in Nature Communications, mark a potential milestone in efforts to develop organic reactions in water. Chao-Jun Li and Feng Zhou of McGill's Department of Chemistry report that they have discovered a catalytic system which for the first time allows direct metal-mediated reactions between aryl halides and carbonyl compounds in water. For the past two decades, researchers have been exploring ways to do away with chemists' traditional reliance on non-renewable petrochemical feedstocks and toxic solvents. One important method has involved replacing the toxic solvents used in metal-mediated reactions with water -- something that was previously considered impossible. While researchers at McGill and elsewhere have succeeded in using water in metal-mediated reactions between carbonyl compounds and other halides, attempts to do so for the most challenging reaction, between aryl halides and carbonyl compounds, have never worked -- until now. Prof. Li and Dr. Zhou, a postdoctoral fellow, found that rhodium -- a metal primarily used in the catalytic converters of automobiles -- as a catalyst together with zinc … Continue reading →