American Chemical Society
Green Chemistry Education
Mary M. Kirchhoff
South African Chemical Institute
Conference
29 November 2015
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Green Chemistry in the Curriculum
How can you introduce your students to green
chemistry?
Classroom
Laboratories
Topics
Projects
Education for a Sustainable Future
“Education for a sustainable
future enables people to
develop the knowledge,
values, and skills to
participate in
decisions…that will
improve the quality of life
now without damaging the
planet for the future…”
UNESCO, 2002
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Sustainability in the Chemical Industry
National Research Council report
Based on outcomes of workshop held in
February 2005
Identifies eight grand challenges for
sustainability in chemistry and
chemical engineering
Highlights research needs
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Challenges
New chemical transformations
Life cycle tools
Toxicological fate and effect
Chemicals from biomass
Fuels from renewable resources
Energy efficient technologies
CO2 management
Sustainability science literacy
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Sustainability Education
Challenge
Improve sustainability science literacy at all
levels
Research
Offer professional development opportunities
Integrate sustainability concepts into
assessments and accreditations
Incorporate sustainability concepts into
curricula
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Professional Development
Conferences
Workshops
Green Chemistry in Education Workshop
(University of Oregon)
Symposia at professional meetings
Summer Schools (ACS and EU)
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2015 Summer School
Green Chemistry and Sustainable Energy
Colorado School of Mines
Primary sponsorship by the ACS PRF
60 grad students and postdocs from the U.S., Canada, and Latin America
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Integrating Sustainability Concepts
Approval/Accreditation
ACS: “The curriculum should expose students
to the role of chemistry in contemporary
societal and global issues, including areas
such as sustainability and green chemistry”.
ABET: Students must attain “the broad
education necessary to understand the impact
of engineering solutions in a global, economic,
environmental, and societal context”
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Incorporating Sustainability into Curricula
Research
Curriculum
Textbooks, labs, exams
Connect green chemistry with broader
sustainability concepts
Move beyond organic
Outreach
Approaches
Develop a new course
Incorporate green chemistry concepts into existing courses
Classroom
Laboratory experiments
Extracurricular activities
Student Chapters/ChemClubs
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Chemistry in Context
Connect basic chemistry concepts to sustainability
General chemistry
Energy: enthalpy, entropy, energy sources, renewable energy
Reaction rates: stratospheric ozone depletion
Organic chemistry
Pharmaceutical examples
General Chemistry
Solids, liquids, and gases
Atmospheric gases
Phase diagrams
Ionic compounds
Mass balance
Coordination complexes
Transition metals
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Solids, Liquids, and Gases
CO2 feedstock in polycarbonate synthesis
Improved Zn catalyst yields faster reaction, uses
milder reaction conditions Coates et al., Cornell University
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O
+ CO2
500 C, 100 psi CO2
catalyst
O*
O *
O
n
N NZn
OAc
iPr
iPr
Pri
Pri
catalyst =
Phase Diagrams
CO2 phase diagram
Applications
Decaffeinating coffee
Dry cleaning
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Ionic Compounds: Ionic Liquids
Advantages
Very low volatility
Variable composition (high design potential - can be
tailored for many applications)
Easily recycled
Disadvantages
Not necessarily innocuous
Manufacture costs uncertain
Ease of separation uncertain
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Coordination Complexes
Chlorine-free wood pulp bleaching
TAML catalysts activate hydrogen peroxide
Eliminates formation of chlorinated organics Collins, Carnegie Mellon University
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HO
H
N
N
N
N
O
O
FeIII
O
O
X
X
Cat+
_
Cat+ = Li+, [Me4N]+, [Et4N]+, [PPh4]+
X = Cl, H, OCH3
General Chemistry Labs
A Greener Approach for Measuring Colligative Properties
Uses safer starting materials: stearic, lauric, myristic, and palmitic acids
Many experiments use aromatic compounds
Converts waste stream (fatty acid mixture) to soap, biodiesel, or wax
McCarthy, S.M.; Gordon-Wylie, S.W. J. Chem. Educ. 2005, 82, 116.
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Organic Chemistry
Oxidation
Carbonyl chemistry
Carbon-carbon bond formation
Electrophilic aromatic substitution
Multistep synthesis
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Carbonyl Chemistry
Polycarbonate Synthesis: Phosgene process
Phosgene is toxic, corrosive
Requires large amount of CH2Cl2
Polycarbonate contaminated with Cl impurities
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OH OH
Cl Cl
ONaOH
O O *
O
* n
Carbonyl Chemistry
Polycarbonate synthesis: Solid-state process
Diphenylcarbonate synthesized without phosgene
Eliminates use of CH2Cl2
Higher-quality polycarbonates Komiya et al., Asahi Chemical Industry Co.
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OH OH
+ O O *
O
* n
O O
O
Organic Labs
Synthesis of hexyl benzoate
Solid acid catalyst
Microwave esterification
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OH
O
+ HOH
+
O
O
+ H2O
Organic Labs
Synthesis of 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin
Solid acid catalysis
Simplifies separation
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H OH
O
EtO O O OHOAmberlyst-15
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Integrating Sustainability Concepts
Educational resources
Chemistry in the Community
Chemistry in Context
Journal of Chemical Education
Green Organic Chemistry: Strategies, Tools, and
Laboratory Experiments
GEMs database
GCEd Net
Outreach
Science festivals
National Chemistry Week
Chemists Celebrate Earth Day
Science cafés
Museums
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Creative Future
Teach chemistry as a creative science rather than a collection of facts to be memorized
Chemists as molecular designers
Creativity
IQ scores rising,
creativity quotient
scores declining
Poll of 1500 CEOs
identified creativity as
the #1 skill for
leadership
competency
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Chemistry and Creativity
“Chemists need to understand
that adding an environmental or
sustainability layer over research
is not a constraint on creativity but
rather is a challenge to creativity.”
John Carberry, DuPont
Industry’s Role
Include expertise in green
chemistry/engineering in job ads
Provide internships with a green
chemistry/sustainability focus
Offer speakers who can highlight greener
products and processes
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Green Revolutions
Past: agriculture
Present: everything
Green buildings, fuels, consumer products, TV
shows
Future: education
Existing courses do not always reflect the current
practice of chemistry
Sustainability as a driver
Connection to societal issues appeals to students
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Education for Sustainability
Develop well-informed
global citizens
Create a cadre of chemists
who can design greener
products and processes
Create awareness of the
role of science and
technology in solving global
challenges