Modern Chemistry Podcast

Professor Polshettiwar is based at the Prestigious Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) (https://www.tifr.res.in). Prof Polshettiwar was educated at a number of institutions across India, before he moved to France, the United States, and Saudi Arabia. In 2013 he joined the TIFR.

Prof Vivek is a Leading researcher in a nanotechnology. He runs a nano-catalysis Laboratory in TIFR, integrated into the Division of Chemical Sciences (DCS). He uses principles of nanochemistry to make new materials which have widespread applications.

Prof Vivek has published many papers in international journals. His NANOCAT group (https://www.nanocat.co.in/ ) works on CO2 capture and conversion to tackle climate change through the development of novel nanomaterials for catalysis and solar energy harvesting

Prof. Vivek is a Fellow of the royal society of chemistry, UK. He has been rewarded an “Asian Rising Stars” at 15th Asian Chemical Congress (ACC), Singapore, by Nobel Laureate Professor Ei-ichi Negish . He has been recently awarded the 2022 IUPAC-CHEMRAWN VII Prize for Green Chemistry in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the field of green chemistry.

Terms used

If you’re not familiar with some of the terms used in this discussion – some key ones are described here for your reference:

• Artificial photosynthesis – A human-designed process that creates energy from Co2, water and sunlight, mimicking the same process which occurs naturally in plants.
• Catalysis – Increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by adding a catalyst.
• CO2 – Carbon Dioxide, one of the major greenhouse gases, and one of the molecules used by plants to create energy from photosynthesis.
• Nano chemistry – Chemical process that rely on one or more component in a particle between 1 to 100 nm in diameter.
• Solar photons – Particles of light emitted from the Sun.
• Green Hydrogen – Hydrogen (H2) gener by renewable energy sources, or using low-carbon power.
• Electrochemical water splitting – Splitting water molecules into component Hydrogen (H2) and Oxygen (O2) molecules by passing an electric current through the water.
• Silica support – A (largely) non-reactive physical support medium for less robust chemically active compounds.
• Urea – A chemical compound with the formula CO(NH2)2. Although useful in a wide range of industrial processes, 90% of global urea production goes into fertilizers.

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If you’re not familiar with some of the terms used in this discussion – some key ones are described here for your reference:

• Bio-inorganic chemistry – the study of the role of metals in biological processes. This includes naturally occurring molecules and artificially introduced proteins.
• Metal center (active site) – the active metal in a larger molecule that reacts in (or catalyzes) a reaction
• Catalysis – increasing the rate of a reaction by introducing a substance to the reaction know as a catalyst. Catalysts are not consumed in the reaction.
• Functionalization of Carbon-Hydrogen bonds – converting a (Carbon-Hydrogen) C-H bond to a C-R bond. R represents a functional group that enables the final molecule to perform a specific reaction.
• Activation of Carbon-Hydrogen bonds – Reading (or breaking) the C-H bond so that the desired functional group can replace the Hydrogen.
• Enzyme – An organic catalyst, often found in nature and active in living cells. Enzymes are typically protein molecules.
• Organic molecule/organic substrate – A compound containing Carbon.
• Hydrogen bonding – An electrostatic force of interaction between a Hydrogen atom and another electronegative atom. The most common Hydrogen bonds occur between Hydrogen and either Nitrogen, Oxygen, or Fluorine.
• Reoxidize (oxidize) – during a reaction, a catalyst may accept electrons from the primary reactants or otherwise become reduced. Removing those electrons, or otherwise oxidizing the catalyst enables it to once more catalyze the reaction.
• Stoichiometric amount – Calculating the number of molecules (usually in moles) required for a given reaction.
• Photochemistry – Chemical reactions which are influenced by the presence or absence of light, often at specific wavelengths. Photochemistry is used to closely control reactions – i.e. the reaction will not take place if the correct light isn’t present.
• Motif – A specific part of a molecule – often found in a number of molecules.

Prof Maiti is contactable on social media, and you can find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/debabrata-maiti-54ab622a/

Our theme music is "Wholesome" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

Music from https://filmmusic.io

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Connect with me (Paul) at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulorange/

H.E.L. group can be found at www.helgroup.com online,
on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hel-group/
on Twitter, we're @hel_group, https://twitter.com/hel_group
or search for us on Facebook

Terms used

If you’re not familiar with some of the terms used in this discussion – some key ones are described here for your reference:

• C rate – the charge and discharge rates of a battery. This varies by battery, but a 1C rate will be a defined current over a particular period of time.
• Cell – The smallest form of a battery – best considered in consumer terms as a single AA or AAA, etc battery.
• Module – A number of individual cells connected together. Multiple modules will be used in a pack.
• Pack – A collection of battery cells, OR battery modules connected together to form the full power source for a device – for example the pack that would be connected to a power tool.
• Thermal runaway – Due to misuse, damage or aging, the process where a battery starts to self-heat. As the battery heats, it causes more damage, reading to greater heating, often resulting in fire, explosion or release of gases. An internal short-circuit is often the intermediate cause of the runaway. The runaway will continue until all the chemicals causing the runaway reaction have been consumed. These are very difficult reactions to stop once they have started.
• Arcing – Current passing through a gas, which causes the electrical breakdown of that gas, often accompanied by production of plasma and visible light.
• Series connection – connecting two or more batteries positive-to-negative. This provides a system that delivers the sum of the battery voltages, without adjust the amp hour output. For example, two 4-volt 3 amp-hour, batteries in series would provide 8 volts and 3 amp hours.
• Parallel connection – connecting two or more batteries together positive-to-positive and negative-to-negative. This provides a system with increased amp hour ratings, without adjusting the current. For example, two 4-volt 3 amp-hour, batteries in parallel would provide 4 volts and 6 amp hours.
• Burst disk – a single use pressure relief system, which is a surface that bursts when a certain pressure is exceeded.

Nigel also mentions the Munro Tesla teardown – you can find that video here - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeZzEg3GIcg

As well as www.batterydesign.net, Nigel is online at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nigel-taylor-2131964/
Our theme music is "Wholesome" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

Music from https://filmmusic.io

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Connect with me (Paul) at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulorange/

H.E.L. group can be found at www.helgroup.com online,
on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hel-group/
on Twitter, we're @hel_group, https://twitter.com/hel_group
or search for us on Facebook

During the discussion, we mention a few terms-

• LCMS – Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry is an analytical technique wherein complex mixtures of chemical are separated by liquid chromatography, then subjected to mass analysis in a mass spectrometer. This often gives detailed information about the composition of the chemical mixtures.
• NMR autosampler – A device which automatically takes samples of a chemical or chemical mix and then makes it available for Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) analysis. The chemical mixes are subject to measurement while in a strong magnetic field, giving information about the structure of the sample under examination.
• Copper iodide – A metallic compound, with chemical formula CuI, also known as cuporous oxide. As well as applications in organic synthesis (to which Nessa was referring), it is used in cloud seeding.

If you want to connect with Nessa and hear about what she’s doing, you can find her:

@SuperScienceGrl on Twitter - https://twitter.com/SuperScienceGrl

On LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/nessacarson/

You’ll also find a number of articles she has written if you head over to www.chemistryworld.com, such as her articles on “Am I really a scientist”or“How many papers do you read a week?”

We also talk about another great Chemistry account on Twitter - @chemjobber – “The king and emperor of chemistry twitter” for more information on chemistry job markets.

Our theme music is "Wholesome" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)Music from https://filmmusic.ioLicense: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Connect with me (Paul) at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulorange/H.E.L. group can be found at www.helgroup.com

online, on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hel-ltd/

,

on twitter we’re @hel_group,

or search for us on Facebook

During the discussion, we mention a few terms-

• Batch reaction/batch reactor – A batch reaction is one where all the ingredients are placed in a single vessel, often heated to allow the reaction to take place. Once the reaction is finished, the end products are collected and usually further purified. A batch reactor is the vessel used. More information can be read here - http://www.essentialchemicalindustry.org/processes/chemical-reactors.html

• Flow reactor/Flow Chemistry – Flow chemistry or continuous chemistry is where the ingredients for the reaction are continually pumped into a reaction chamber. The reaction chamber is often some form of a tube, with a catalyst held in place. The reaction chamber is often heated and/or pressurized and the resulting product will continuously flow out of the reactor, as long as source ingredients are fed in. More information can be found on Wikipedia here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_chemistry

• Autoclave – In this specific example, it refers to a type of batch reactor used at small scale. After the reaction ingredients are added, the autoclave is sealed and can be heated and pressurized to drive the reaction. For examples of these types of reactors look at https://www.helgroup.com/reactor-systems/hydrogenation-catalysis/catalyst-screening/

• Catalyst – A Catalyst is something used to increase the rate of a chemical reaction. The catalyst itself is not used up in the reaction. The Wikipedia page for catalysis (the process of using a catalyst) is https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalysis

• BioEthanol – Ethanol is a common alcohol with two carbon atoms, with the molecular formula C2H6O2. Bioethanol is a term used to described ethanol produced by the microbial digestion of waste or unwanted plant material. Although it has many potential uses, most commonly it used as an additive in petroleum fuels to reduce the requirements for use of mined petroleum-based fuels.

• Butanol – Butanol is an alcohol with four carbon atoms, with the molecular formula C4H9OH. Although most commonly derived from petrochemical, in the context of this discussion, it can be made by joining two molecules of ethanol together.

• Zeolites – Russel describes zeolites well in the podcast and if you’re interested in hearing more, then check out the Federation of European Zeolite Associations at http://www.feza-online.eu/index.php

You can find out more information about Rusell and Sam on:
Russell’s research group at https://www.dur.ac.uk/chemistry/staff/profile/?id=14184
Russell is on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-taylor-aab80140/
Sam is also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuelraynes/

Our theme music is "Wholesome" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)

Music from https://filmmusic.io

License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Connect with me (Paul) at https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulorange/

H.E.L. group can be found at www.helgroup.com online,

on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/hel-ltd/,

on twitter we’re @HELUK,

or search for us on Facebook