Penn researchers recently reported in Nature Chemistry the development of a new method to convert hydrocarbons to alkenes, which are building blocks to polymers, natural products and chemical reagents ubiquitous in industry. They were able to achieve 100% selectivity, transforming the hydrocarbons towards a more desirable product with zero emissions of carbon dioxide.

Daniel Mindiola, a Presidential Professor in the Department of Chemistry in the School of Arts and Sciences at Penn, said, “We have discovered a unique way to grab a hydrocarbon, a molecule that is usually only looked at as a source of energy by burning it, and convert it to a more value-added material that is a building block to polymers and numerous reagents of immense value to the chemical industry. Notably, we found we can do this using cheap, Earth-abundant elements, such as titanium.”

This system applies a new strategy to remove hydrogens selectively but, rather than using the expensive, rare metals commonly used for this type of work, it uses an extremely reactive titanium-based molecule that can pull apart the carbon-hydrogen bond of these alkanes.

The research would allow petrochemical companies to selectively and mildly transform these fuels into more value-added chemicals. 

“They want to stop burning these abundant resources and instead convert them to more valuable raw materials,” Dr. Mindiola said. “A huge amount of energy is lost in a very important industrial process such as steam cracking. In this process, the petrochemical industry uses a lot of energy to break hydrocarbons apart and make more useful hydrocarbons, which ultimately results in energy being consumed but also in the formation of carbon dioxide.”