Over the past years nanocellulose has proven to be one of the most prominent green materials of modern times. Nanocellulose is derived from the most abundant natural polymer, cellulose, from various physical and chemical processes. Even though cellulose has been widely utilized for several decades, nanocellulose has emerged as a prominent material in the last two decades. Nanocellulose can be mainly divide into three types: cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs), cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs), and bacterial cellulose (BC), having a size about 100nm.

Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of solid or liquid particles suspended in a gas. Fine particles with diameters smaller than 2.5 mm (PM_2.5) present a large human health concern because they can penetrate lower into the respiratory tract causing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and lung cancer. A group of organic compounds previously observed in PM_2.5, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are present in a variety of environments.

Sparse labeling is a strategy for isotopic enrichment in proteins grown in mammalian systems, such as glycoproteins. We have developed a customized isotope simulator that can simulate enriched peptide and protein isotope patterns. Using this simulator, we have developed a software to experimentally determine the abundance of ¹³C and ¹⁵N in enriched peptides and proteins using isotope patterns and mass information from conventional mass spectrometers.

Phosphorus, one of many elements that fall under the umbrella of inorganic chemistry, is currently experiencing a renaissance due to advancements in synthetic methodology. Currently, there are 4 primary allotropes of phosphorus. While red, white, and black phosphorus have been well-studied, it is only recently that a reliable synthesis of crystalline violet phosphorus has been established.

My research group is interested in mechanistic insights to sort out the reactive oxygen intermediates in photooxidation reactions. We have made contributions to the fields of photooxidation and oxygen-transfer processes, including singlet-oxygen disinfection priming and selective oxidations. In this seminar, one topic to be discussed is the shrinking of a molecular gap (so-to-speak), that is improving of mechanistic understanding of a phototruncation through physical organic chemistry.

Fischer carbene complexes with six valence electrons, characterized by a singlet carbene center, demonstrate an amphiphilic nature.¹ The transition metal carbene complexes share similarities with Fischer carbene complexes, potentially functioning as both nucleophiles and electrophiles.² This duality enables chemists to accomplish intricate transformations, such as C-H bond insertion or cyclopropanation.

First discovered nearly 100 years ago when Samuel Kistler successfully dried silica gel without collapsing its structure, aerogels are a class of materials which contain some of the lightest solids ever synthesized. Today, many types of aerogels exist and can differ by the starting material or drying process, but overall, each are composed of the same interconnected nanostructured framework. Additionally, they are recognized for having extraordinary properties, such as extremely low thermal conductivity, low density, and high porosity, among many more.

The textile industry is renowned for its vibrant array of dyes, yet the discharge of these dyes into water bodies poses significant environmental challenges. In recent years, the utilization of Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) has emerged as a promising avenue for the efficient removal of textile dyes through photocatalytic degradation processes. Firstly, the structural characteristics of MOFs render them highly versatile for photocatalytic applications.

The concept of click chemistry was first introduced by Sharpless and his coworkers in 2001¹ , with the copper-mediated azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) being the first click reaction to be introduced. Although a robust and precise reaction, ligating azides with terminal alkynes to afford 1,4-disubstituted triazoles, CuAAC was inherently limited due to its utilization of toxic copper metal as well as its limiting requirement for pre-functionalization. Since then, click chemistry has evolved, driven by a high demand for biorthogonal reactions.

From the 17th through the 19th century, beautifully artistic drawings of living specimens were inextricably linked to biological discovery. However, for much of the 20th century, optical microscopy took a back seat to the powerful new fields of genetics and biochemistry. Starting in the 1980s, the tables started to turn again, thanks to the widespread availability of computers, lasers, sensitive detectors, and fluorescence labeling techniques.