NMR Analysis for Sorbitol and Glutamic Acid Derivatives
EMSL Project ID
2237
Abstract
Projects currently underway in our laboratory are aimed at discovering novel catalysts and pathways for monomers from renewable feedstocks. The most abundant resource from biomass is glucose. Economics from corn-derived glucose suggest that chemicals from corn can be economically competitive with those derived from the non-renewable petrochemical industry. Glucose can be transformed to sorbitol (hydrogenation) or glutamic acid (fermentation). Our work encompasses the further reaction of sorbitol and glutamic acid to a variety of valuable products including: 1,5-pentanediol, 2-amino-1,5-pentanediol, isosorbide, propylene glycol and others. An abundant need for NMR support (both 13C and 1H) is ubiquitous when developing new catalytic pathways. Our needs include determining unknown products, by-products, and intermediates formed in catalytic reactions. Hydrogenation of glutamic acid can produce a complex array of acyclic and cyclic monomeric and oligomeric products. Understanding these compositions is critical for catalyst development. Furthermore, defining by-products and intermediates is remarkably helpful for developing mechanistic pictures that lead to process improvement. NMR will also be used to compliment our other analytical tools. One example is determining accurate response factors for HPLC, IC and GC for compounds that are not easily obtained in pure forms. Finally, NMR can aid in understanding structural details such as inter- and intramolecular hydrogen bonding, hydrates, and other features of di-funtionalized molecules. This type of information is often helpful in understanding stability or reactivity of the compounds of interest.
Project Details
Project type
Capability Research
Start Date
2001-03-27
End Date
2002-12-20
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator