Drop-in and novel nitrile polymer building blocks from bio-based sources

This project takes aim at incorporating renewable, and most importantly, sustainable approaches to the synthesis of desirable nitrile monomers. These monomers are being targeted due to their diverse uses in industries, ranging in practical uses from 3-D printing to the Automotive industries to acting as precursor in fine chemical industries. The initial target molecule is Acrylonitrile, and we will expand to more complex nitriles at a later stage of research. Acrylonitrile is industrially produced through the SOHIO process, where propylene (commonly sourced from petrochemical industries) is reacted with ammonia and air over a Molybdenum Oxide based catalyst. Our project takes aim at reducing the extreme conditions required for the production of Acrylonitrile, as well as exploring a more renewable approach to sourcing the reactants to produce the monomers of interest. Furthermore, we will also be using a different catalyst, Titanium Dioxide, of which the metal is far more abundantly found in the Earths crust than Molybdenum.