The conversion of simple chemicals into more complex ones is essential for society, such as the manufacture of medicines and plastics. But these processes present significant challenges from a sustainability perspective as they can be energy intensive, produce large amounts of waste, and often rely on limited resources.
Dr Annie Colebatch’s research aims to develop new methods that utilise catalysts to reduce energy and waste in chemical processes. Her and her team take inspiration from biological enzymes to create synthetic catalysts and study their interactions at the molecular level to build our understanding of how to effect chemical transformations efficiently and selectively.
2023