The McGill University Department of Chemistry has signed the Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) from Beyond Benign, an organization that develops and disseminates green chemistry and sustainable science educational resources that empower educators, students, and the community at large to practice sustainability through chemistry.
Helium is probably not the first thing that comes to mind for most people when they think about recycling – unless they’re experimental chemists working in McGill’s Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) facilities.
Scientists at McGill University have developed a solvent-free method for making oligonucleotides, short strands of DNA of growing significance in research and the pharmaceutical industry.
Research published this week in Science Advances shows that it may be possible to create rocket fuel that is much cleaner and safer than the hypergolic fuels that are commonly used today. And still just as effective. The new fuels use simple chemical “triggers” to unlock the energy of one of the hottest new materials, a class of porous solids known as metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs. MOFs are made up of clusters of metal ions and an organic molecule called a linker.
Methanol—a colourless liquid that can be made from agricultural waste—has long been touted as a green alternative to fossil fuels. But it’s toxic and only has half the energy as the same volume of gasoline. Now, Chao-Jun Li and colleagues report they’ve created a potentially cheap way to use sunlight to convert methanol to ethanol, a more popular alternative fuel that’s less harmful and carries more energy.
Professor Tomislav Friščić is the recipient of the prestigious Steacie Prize for Natural Sciences for his exceptional contributions to Green Chemistry research in Canada. He is the third McGill professor to win the Steacie Prize, and the first ever McGill professor to win it for chemistry. The two previous winners from McGill are Vicky Kaspi, Physics and Astronomy (2006) and Phil Gold, Medicine (1973).
Researchers at McGill University have discovered a new, more environmentally friendly way to make ketones, an important chemical ingredient in pharmaceuticals. While ketones are found in a wide range of useful chemicals, they are commonly prepared through energy-intensive, multi-step technologies that create significant chemical waste. In an article published online last month in Nature Chemistry, the McGill scientists demonstrate how carbon monoxide, a widely available by-product of combustion, can instead be used to form high-energy chemicals that react directly with benzene to
Mechanochemical method makes noble metal compounds without solvents or harsh reagents. Read more in Chemical & Engineering News, the magazine of the American Chemical Society.
For the second year in a row, students from the Green Chemistry course (CHEM 462) are releasing their journal issue, published online as The McGill Green Chemistry Journal. This volume gathers the reviews written by students who took the course. Students used peer evaluation, similar to the standard in scientific publication as a means to raise the quality of all the papers submitted.
The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada has awarded an E.W.R Steacie Memorial Fellowship to Prof. Tomislav Friščić, to support his work in an innovative branch of chemistry that aims to develop environmentally friendly alternatives to solvent-based chemical processes.
NSERC awards up to six of these two-year, $250,000 fellowships annually to enhance the career development of outstanding and highly promising scientists and engineers.
...In 2011, the mechanochemist Tomislav Friscic and his team used mechanochemical methods to make bismuth subsalicylate, the active ingredient of Pepto-Bismol, by grinding together bismuth oxide and salicylic acid. The method not only does away with solvents, but also uses bismuth oxide, a safe reagent, in lieu of toxic bismuth salts.
The McGill News Magazine recently highlighted the development of green chemistry in our department, featuring Tomislav Friščić, C.J. Li, Robin Rogers and Audrey Moores. Read more on the magazine website.
The McGill Green Chemistry Student Association hosted a Green Chemistry Trivia Night on Mar 20 2015 at Thompson House. The association was formed by CREATE trainees following a CREATE seminar on How to Start Your Own Student-Led Green Chemistry Initiative by Laura Reyes (U. of T.) last August. The Trivia Night was a resounding success, with over 60 participants attending. The Faculty/Staff team included CREATE members CJ Li, Tomislav Friscic, and Audrey Moores, CREATE coordinator Jacky Farrell, and CREATE outreach member Alex Wabha.