Two ERC Advanced Grants for researchers in chemistry
Following a highly competitive selection process, Prof. Thomas Ward and Prof. Oliver Wenger from the Department of Chemistry of the University of Basel have been awarded a European Research Council Grant. Over a period of five years, they will each receive around CHF 2.5 million for studies into nitrogen production and groundbreaking photochemistry, respectively.
The European Research Council (ERC) received over 2,500 applications for ERC Advanced Grants, with only around 280 projects receiving the prestigious EU funding. Three researchers from the University of Basel, managed to impress the council with their project applications, among them two chemists.
New pathways to nitrogen
Professor Thomas Ward from the Department of Chemistry was one of the successful Advanced Grant applicants (website Ward research group). His project “Bionix” (“biocatalytic oxidative dinitrogen fixation”) explores completely new ways of producing nitrate, which plays a key role in global agriculture as a plant nutrient in fertilizers. Professor Ward and his team are aiming to establish an efficient process that uses significantly less energy and produces fewer emissions.
Nitrogen is a key building block in all living matter. In the air however, nitrogen is present as dinitrogen gas (N₂), which most organisms are unable to assimilate. It was not until the early 20th century that the Haber-Bosch process succeeded in converting nitrogen from the air into ammonia (NH3), which can be used by plants. The reaction at the heart of this process is referred to as a “reduction”.
Under the Bionix project, Professor Ward and his colleagues are looking to take a radically different direction: to establish a process in which N2 is oxidized instead. The researchers aim to reprogram metalloenzymes from bacteria and archaea to catalyze the oxidation of N2 into nitrate.
Nitrate has numerous advantages over ammonia as a fertilizer, especially in dry soils. Oxidation of N2 also requires less energy than reduction, so the new process will reduce energy consumption in agriculture in the long term.
Breaking boundaries in photochemistry
Professor Oliver Wenger from the Department of Chemistry has received an Advanced Grant for his research projects in photochemistry, which involves chemical reactions triggered by light (website Wenger research group). This plays a part in processes such as the conversion of solar energy into other forms of energy.
Professor Wenger and his colleagues are seeking to expand the potential of photochemistry by attempting to overcome a fundamental hurdle. According to “Kasha’s rule”, only a molecule in the lowest state of energy can be used for a chemical reaction. In higher excited states they lose energy too quickly and therefore cannot be used for reactions.
The aim of the newly funded project “Breaking Kasha” is to push the boundaries of photochemistry with regard to Kasha’s rule and initiate reactions from highly excited states. The researchers are working on slowing the loss of energy in these more excited states, as well as accelerating photochemical reactions so they outpace the loss of energy.
If this type of reaction were to be established reliably, it could significantly influence certain areas of synthetic chemistry and the conversion of solar energy.