Helsinki University is welcoming us for our last Annual Meeting. The meeting will take place at Santa’s Hotel Tunturi in Saariselkä, Finland. Scientific sessions: the sessions will cover the research themes of the NordCO2 consortium presented below. The time allocated for each presenttion is 30 minutes in cluding time for discussion. The programme will be updated when the sessions are scheduled. Outdoor Activities / Free time: Saariselkä offers a range of outdoor activities, including downhill skiing. For organising/participating to outdoor activities, please contact our local contacts at Helsinki University, Joe and Jussi. Outdoor activities will not be covered by NordCO2. Cocktail Poster Session: as per our tradition, we will have an evening poster session, this time with a standing dinner. You are free to dress up as nice as you wish..or not! NordCO2 Quiz: for the very first time, we invite to participate to a quiz about all things NordCO2. NordCO2 is proud to again participate to IUPAC’s Global Women’s Breakfast event, at the occasion of the UN International Day of Women and Girls in Science. We are organising a digital seminar open to all, as well as physical breakfasts at several of the NordCO2 locations: UiT, UiO, HU, and UoI. Our seminar will consist of a guest lecture by Associate Professor Melina Duarte from the Department of Philosophy at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, followed by local discussions at each of our locations, with invited guests (tbc). Diversity is an abstract concept that can denote any type of variation or difference. Despite its open and ample appeal, diversity is supposed to guide the inclusion politics in academia in tangible ways. For this to happen, however, this abstract concept requires contextual instantiation of some kind. In the Global Women’s Breakfast 2023, we will explore ways in which the meaning of “diversity” can be negotiated in the Nordic Academia and resonate with the following conceptual, justificatory, and normative challenges: What is diversity? Is diversity important? If, yes, how can we best promote it in the Nordic Academia? After the lecture, questions from the chat will be answered before we shut down the digital part of the event. The session will be chaired by Associate Professor Marius Myreng Haugland from the Department of chemistry at UiT.2023
Annual Meeting 2023
24th-27th April 2023, Saariselkä 🇫🇮
For those who wish to stay inside during “afternoon free time”, the meeting room will be accessible on Tuesday (25th) but not on Wednesday (due to a meeting of the NordCO2 Steering Committee). All double rooms have been booked with saunas (but not the single rooms).Global Women’s Breakfast
14th February 2023, 10:00 CET
Title of the lecture:
“Making sense of “Diversity” in the Nordic Academia”
Abstract:
NordCO2 monthly seminars
January 2023: UiT the Arctic University of Norway 🇳🇴
31st January 2023, 14:00-16:00 CET
Zoom meeting – Register here!
The seminar will consist of two talks, by Dr. Ashot Gevorgyan from the Department of Chemistry at UiT The Arctic University of Norway and by Dr. Brian V. Popp from the Department of Chemistry at West Virginia University, WV, USA.
Ashot obtained his MSc degree in pharmacology in 2011 at Yerevan State University, Armenia. After completing his MSc, he moved to Germany to pursue doctoral studies in the group of Prof. Peter Langer, University of Rostock. In 2015, he earned his PhD working on homogeneous catalysis and C-H functionalization of heterocycles. He then accomplished a 2 year postdoctoral studies in the group of Dr. Viktor O. Iaroshenko at the Center of Molecular and Macromolecular Studies in Lodz, Poland. In 2018, Ashot moved to UiT The Arctic University of Norway, where he carried out further postdoctoral studies with Prof. Kathrin H. Hopmann and Prof. Annette Bayer. In 2021, he established his group at the department of chemistry, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. His research interests cover several directions in green chemistry including CO2 fixation and application of biomass-derived chemicals for organic synthesis.
Title of the lecture:
“CO2 fixation in the arctic”
Abstract:
CO2 is the most sustainable carbon source. The main obstacle limiting the widespread use of CO2 in the synthesis of chemicals is its pronounced inertness. Our research is primarily focused on the development of new methodologies for the C-C bond forming reactions involving CO2 (see figure below).1-5 For instance, we could demonstrate that for the hydrocarboxylation of certain olefins the use of expansive ligands and catalysts is not necessary.1,2 On top of that, for the first time we have shown that CO2 capture and utilization can be performed in renewable solvents.3 In another study we have developed a selective methodology for the C-H carboxylation of unactivated arenes with CO2.4 The methodologies developed by us can be applied for the production of pharmaceuticals and for the late-stage functionalization of value-added products. In my talk, I will summarize these findings and will present our perspectives on the development of this field of research.
References
Brian received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemistry from Wright State University in 2001 and 2002, working with Prof. Vladimir Katovic. He continued his graduate work in mechanistic inorganic/organometallic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the mentorship of Prof. Shannon Stahl. He received a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry in 2007 for his work unraveling the details of the oxygenation of reduced-Pd species relevant to homogeneous aerobic oxidation catalysis. In 2008, he moved to Rice University as a J. Evans Attwell-Welch Postdoctoral Fellow in the laboratory of Prof. Zach Ball where developed enzyme-like approaches for site-selective peptide and protein modification using dirhodium-metallopeptides. In 2011, he began his independent career as a tenure-track assistant professor in the C. Eugene Bennett Department of Chemistry at West Virginia University (WVU) and, in 2019, was promoted to associate professor. He has established an active, externally funded research group focused on developing new and improving existing synthetic methods using earth-abundant transitional metal catalysts. Since 2019, he has also been the Chemistry Director of Graduate Studies and, since 2016, co-led a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) site in Chemistry at the WVU Chemistry Department.
Title of the lecture:
“Difunctionalization of alkenes with boron and CO2“
Abstract:
The hetero(element)carboxylation of unsaturated organic substrates is useful due to the installation of a carboxylic acid, using the C1 feedstock CO2, as well as a synthetically versatile hetero(element)-carbon bond. In 2016, we reported the first method to achieve 1,2-borylative-carboxylation (boracarboxylation) of an alkene (vinyl arene).1 The mild method uses redox-neutral NHC-copper(I) catalysis and a single atmosphere of CO2 to obtain boron-functionalized α-aryl carboxylic acids, including novel functionalized-NSAIDs such as bora-ibuprofen and bora-naproxen. The products can be further elaborated through a variety of reactions at the C–B bond. In recent years, understanding CO2 pressure effects and use of secondary additives, such as mono- and bis-phosphine ligands, have led to the marked broadening of the substrate scope.2,3 Mechanistic insights from well-defined, isolable copper complexes and complimentary computational studies have revealed important details about the operative reaction pathways.4,5
References
May 2023: University of Bergen 🇳🇴
August 2023: Stockholm University 🇸🇪
October 2023: University of Iceland 🇮🇸
15th – 19th August 2022, Hveragerði 🇮🇸 Finally! In addition to the scientific programme, there will also be visits to the firm Carbon Recycling International, the Blue Lagoon, and The Golden Circle with Þingvellir, Gullfoss and Geysir. On Monday we will gather for dinner in Reykjavík, and spend the night at the Icelandair Hotel Reykjavik Natura. We will be hosted (from Tuesday) at the Hótel Örk which is a conference hotel in a small town called Hveragerði 40 min from Reykjavik. It is a nice location close to the beautiful places for which visits are planned. The town itself has a few small geysers and other interesting sights. 9th – 11th May 2022, Bergen 🇳🇴 The 2022 NordCO2 Summer School is organised by UiB around the theme of “Computational molecular Design”. The school will run across 3 days (lunchtime to lunchtime) with lectures and exercise sessions. Lecturers: Locations: Accommodation will be at the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel, near Bryggen in Bergen city centre. Lectures will be held at the Department of Chemistry, in the Natural Sciences building of the University of Bergen. Between the two is a 25-minutes walk, public transportation is also available (travel time around 20 minutes). Dinner on Monday will be at Bryggeloftet and at Zupperia on Tuesday. 16th February 2022, 09:00 CET, Zoom Meeting The NordCO2 consortium is fully committed to promoting diversity in science. Together with the CO2PERATE ITN Together with the NordCO2 consortium, we organised a seminar across several locations. We wanted to focus the topic of our event on what it means to work in a diverse environment (not limited to gender balance) , and why. The seminar, hosted by Associate Professor Ainara Nova (UiO), featured a guest lecture by Professor Emeritus Christina Moberg from the KTH Royal institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden. After the lecture, there was a discussion with invited guests Professor Adela Muñoz Paez (University of Seville, Spain) and Professor Unni Olsbye (UiO), as well as the audience .2022
NordCO2 monthly seminars
February 2022: aarhus university 🇩🇰
25th February 2022, 13:00 CET
Guest lecture by Dr. Davide Audisio from the 14C-labelling laboratory (LMC) of the Frédéric Joliot Institute for Life Sciences, France.
Title of the lecture:
“Late-stage carbon isotope labelling”
Abstract:
Carbon-14 radiolabelling is a unique tool that, in association with b-counting and b-imaging technologies, provides vital knowledge on the fate of synthetic organic molecules such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. Traditional multistep synthesis and the associated costs have limited its utilization.
Recently, we have explored late-stage carbon isotope labeling technologies starting from readily available 14C sources such as [14C]CO2, [14C]CO and [14C]CN–. In this context, we have developed transitions metal catalyzed and photocatalysed methodologies to enable effective carbon-isotope exchange on carboxylic acid derivatives and nitrile containing molecules. These reactions expand the concept of late-stage carbon radiolabeling and provide a direct access to end-use labeled pharmaceuticals.
References
April 2022: Helsinki University 🇫🇮
11th April 2022, 14:15 CET
Guest Lecture by Pr. Bernhard Rieger.
Title of the lecture:
“Materials & Energy – On the Role of CO2 in the 21st Century”
Student talk by PhD student Aleski Sahari.
Title:
“Titanium Isopropoxide-mediated cis-selective synthesis of 3,4-substituted butyrolactones from CO2“
June 2022: University of Oslo 🇳🇴
2nd June 2022, 14:30 CET
Guest Lecture by Pr. Veronique Van Speybroeck from the Center for Molecular Modelling at Ghent University, Belgium.
Title of the lecture:
“A molecular modeling perspective on the C1 chemistry for light olefin and aromatics formation over zeolites”
Student talk by PhD student Tomas Cordero Lanzac (UiO).
Title:
“Kinetics of CO2 hydrogenation to propane over a PdZn/ZrO2 + SAPO-34 catalyst “
October 2022: KTH Royal college of Technology 🇸🇪
25th October 2022, 14:00 CET
Guest Lecture by Magnus Johnson from the Perstorp Group, Sweden.
Title of the lecture:
“Innovation and sustainability in Perstorp and the specialty chemical industry”
The seminar will cover how Perstorp as a global specialty chemical producer works with innovation and sustainability. The R&D work within a company that is positioned early in the value chain differs in many ways from more complex and highly regulated products such as in e.g. the pharmaceutical industry. Instead, the products are simpler, but produced at a much larger scale, with all the challenges and opportunities that follows. The presentation will also cover how sustainable transformation is a cornerstone within innovation. Having personally made the transition from an academic career, I will also try to shed some light on the differences between what a good chemistry idea is in the industry, compared to academia. In the end, I will also present our Project Air, which, when finalized, will be the largest CCU unit in the world.
There will be a student talk after the guest lecture.
Annual Meeting 2022
This year’s Annual Meeting is the long-awaited meeting in Iceland, organised by UoI. The meeting will run over the course of three days from Tuesday 16th August, with Monday 15th and Friday 19th travelling days. The meeting will include presentations by researchers, students and PIs, spread over four sessions:Summer School 2022 – Computational Molecular Design
GBW 2022: Empowering Diversity in Science
1st March 2021, 13:00 CET, Zoom meeting Lecture by Pr. Marc Robert from the REACTE group at the Laboratoire d’Électrochimie Moléculaire of Université Paris Diderot, France.
Title of the lecture: “Molecular (photo)electrochemical Reduction of CO2 with Co and Fe Complexes. Hybrid Catalysis, Highly Reduced Products” Talk by NordCO2 PhD student Simon S. Perdersen from the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center at Aarhus University, Denmark. 28th April 2021, 09:00 CET Lecture by Prof. Matthias Beller, Head of the Department of Applied Homogeneous Catalysis at the Liebniz-Institut für Katalyse (LIKAT), Germany.
Title of the lecture: “Unifying Concepts for the Development of Catalysts for Small Molecule Activation” 28th April 2021, 10:00 CET 28th April 2021, 12:00 CET Lecture by Prof. Walter Leitner, Director of the Division of Molecular Catalysis at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion, Germany.
Title of the lecture: “Power-to-X catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide and hydrogen for fuels and chemicals” 20th May 2021, 14:00 CET Lecture by Dr. Aleix Comas-Vives from the Modelling of Heterogeneous Catalysts research group at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain.
Title of the lecture: “Theory-Aided Comprehension of CO2 Conversion on Heterogeneous Catalysts” 20th May 2021, 14:45 CET Talk by NordCO2 PhD student Ebrahim Tayyebi from Prof. Skúlason’s research group at the University of Iceland, Iceland. 23rd June 2021, 14:00 CET Lecture by NordCO2 Associated PI and Assoc. Prof. Nina Lock from the epartment of Biological and Chemical Engineering at Aarhus University, Denmark.
Title of the lecture: “Metal-organic frameworks for electrocatalytic CO2 reduction“ 24th September 2021, 14:00 CET Lecture by Professor Julio Lloret-Fillol from the Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia, Spain.2021
NordCO2 monthly seminars
March 2021: Uppsala University 🇸🇪
April 2021: Helsinki University 🇫🇮
May 2021: University of Oslo 🇳🇴
June 2021: UiT The arctic university of Norway 🇳🇴
September 2021: KTH Royal Institute of Technology 🇸🇪
October 2021: University of Bergen 🇳🇴
21st October 2021, 14:00 CEST
Lecture by Professor James Mayer from the Mayer Lab research group at Yale University, USA. Title of the lecture: Fundamental properties of iron–porphyrin (electro)catalysts for O2 reduction, with implications for CO2 reduction
21st October 2021, 15:00 CEST
Student talk by Morten Tysse from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Bergen. Title of the talk: “Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to CO Mediated by Metal Porphyrins: Insights from DFT”
November 2021: Stockholm University 🇸🇪
16th November 2021, 14:30 CET
Student talk by Victor García from Stockholm University, Sweden. The lecture has the following preliminary title: “Hypervalent Iodine(III) Mediated Coupling of Enol Derivatives with CO2“.
16th November 2021, 15:00 CET
Lecture from Pr. Liane Rossi from the Laboratory of Nanomaterials & Catalysis at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Title of the lecture: “Optimizing the selectivity of supported nickel catalysts for CO2 catalytic hydrogenation”
December 2021: University of Iceland 🇮🇸
10th December 2021, 13:00 CET
Guest lecture: Dr. Federico Calle-Vallejo from the Computational Electrocatalysis Group at the University of Barcelona Student talk: PhD Narges Atrak from the Department of Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Iceland who will present her thesis.
Annual meeting 2021
25th – 26th November 2021, University of Oslo
The NordCO2 Annual Meeting 2021 will take place over the course of two days, with presentations, activities, and a poster session.winter school 2021
22nd – 24th November 2021, University of Oslo
NordCO2 is collaborating with the ITN CO2PERATE to organise the 2021 Winter School, which will take place over the course of three days from the 22nd to the 24th of November this year. The focus of the school will be on the “Mechanisms of CO2 activation” as well as “Isotopic labelling”. The course will consist of digital lectures in the mornings and practical sessions in the afternoon. Programme2020
2020 activities were disturbed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Virtual Industry & Annual NordCO2 Meeting
21-29th October 2020, 14:00-16:00 CET, Zoom meeting
The 2020 Annual Meeting for NordCO2 (originally planned in Iceland) took place digitally via the Zoom platform. Together with it was organised the Industry Panel (originally planned in Denmark) with speakers from AstraZeneca and Haldor Topsøe. The meeting took place over 5 days from 2 to 4 pm (CET), with each day split between oral presentations from NordCO2 students and talks from Industry guests. Industry Talks:- “The use of Isotopic Carbon Dioxide in Drug Discovery” – Chad Elmore, AstraZeneca
- “CO2 utilization – key to make drug purification more sustainable” – Kristina Öhlén, AstraZeneca
- “Development of catalyitic processes fro producing biochemicals” – Esben Taarning, Haldor Topsøe
2019
NordCO2 Summer School on “Energy carriers from CO2“
October 1st to 4th 2019, Uppsala, Sweden
2019 NordCO2 Summer School on ‘Energy carriers from CO2‘ (for example formation of methanol or CO from CO2). The Summer school will be open for students outside NordCO2, provided they have own financing for their trip and accomodation. The sommer school is organized together with the ITN “European School on Artificial Leaf:Electrodes Devices”, with overlapping program for 2 of the 4 days. Please note that the 2019 NordCO2 Summer school was originally planned to take place on Iceland in August, but for organisatorial reasons the school is moved to Uppsala. NordCO2 plans to arrange a summer school in Iceland in 2020.Science Days festival
September 19th and 22nd 2019, Tromsø, Norway
The Science Days is a yearly festival in Norway organized by universities on the initiative from The Research Council of Norway. NordCO2 member Yngve Guttormsen used dry ice to show the shift between liquids and gas, such as the condensation of H2O(g) in air, CO2 in carbonated drinks, and other easily observable phenomena. He used dry ice in varm water and collected gas and condensation in balloons. He used this opportunity opportunity to talk about CO2 to the general public. Pictures of the event can be seen on UiTs Facebook page.EuCOMC 2019 – parallel scientific track
June 16-20th 2019, Helsinki, Finland
NordCO2 organises a parallel scientific track on CO2 conversion at the EuCOMC 2019 in Helsinki, Finland. The NordCO2 member Timo Repo is co-organizer of EuCOMC 2019. The parallel track is planned for June17th and will include 3 outstanding plenary speakers, 3 keynote speakers and 6 contributed talk on use of CO2 in chemical synthesis.NordCO2 Workshop on Open Science
March 19-20th 2019, Stockholm
NordCO2 organized a workhop at KTH in Stockholm on the open science platform CADICAT (developed by NordCO2 member Kim Daasbjerg), which should be used for communication between nodes working on the same projects – and ultimately for open science release of projects and for industrial collaborations. Read more about the meeting HERE and about the platform HERE.2018
CADIAC Annual Meeting
November 19-20th 2018, Aarhus, Denmark
Annual meeting of the ‘CO2 Activation Centre’ (CADIAC) at Århus University, Denmark, followed by meeting of the NordCO2 Steering Committee. Read more HERE and HERE.PhD Course: “Mechanisms for CO2 activation”
September 12-14th 2018, Tromsø, Norway PhD Course: “Mechanisms for CO2 activation” at the University of Tromsø, Norway. Read more HERE.NordCO2 Kick-Off Meeting
May 14-16th 2018, Tromsø, Norway
Kick-off meeting for NordCO2 in Tromsø. See HERE for information and HERE for a report from the meeting.NordCO2 Workshop on Open Science
April 13-14th 2018, Tromsø, Norway
Nordic CO2 days at University of Tromsø. Outreach event for school classes and the general public. CO2 emissions are linked to global warming and acidification of the ocean. But CO2 can also be viewed as a resource, which may replace carbon derived from oil.