American Chemical Society
Green Chemistry
Education
Mary M. Kirchhoff
South African Chemical Institute
Conference
29 November 2015
Green Chemistry in the
Curriculum
How can you introduce your students to green
chemistry?
Classroom
Laboratories
Topics
Projects
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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
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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
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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
O
+
CO2
500 C, 100 psi CO2
catalyst
iPr
O
n
*
*
O
Pri
N
catalyst =
O
N
Zn
iPr OAc Pri
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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
H
H
OO
X
O
N
N
Cat+
Fe
X
_
N
III
Cat+ = Li+, [Me4N]+, [Et4N]+, [PPh4]+
N
O
X = Cl, H, OCH3
O
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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

O
O
HO
*
Cl
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NaOH
OH
O
O
n
*
Cl
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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.
OH
HO
O
+
*
O
O
n
*
O
O
O
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Organic Labs
Synthesis of hexyl benzoate
Solid acid catalyst
Microwave esterification
O
O
OH
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HO
H+
O
+
H2O
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Organic Labs
Synthesis of 7-hydroxy-4-methylcoumarin
Solid acid catalysis
Simplifies separation
H
OH
EtO
O
Amberlyst-15
HO
O
O
O
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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
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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
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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
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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
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