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Cal Poly Pomona Experts Guide

BROWSE EXPERTS

by name, by topic, or by college/division
Alex John

Alex John and his research group are studying chemical reactions that could support a sustainable chemical enterprise. They are using biomass-derived molecules as a replacement for petrochemicals to meet future chemical demand.

They are currently developing methods for incorporating biomass-derived molecules in chemical processes. The group is tackling the project from several inter-related aspects, (a) developing synthetic methods that use renewables, (b) converting bio-derived molecules into platform chemicals, and (c) developing sustainable plastics sourced from biomass. The first two projects involve developing efficient transition-metal catalyzed processes thus offering cost-minimization and waste reduction. Another frontier that is being explored is transforming platform chemicals obtained from biomass into value-added chemicals by engaging them in tandem reactions.

Recent Grants and Fellowships:

  • Principal Investigator, National Science Foundation, Chemical Catalysis, “Evaluation of Ligand Effects in Molybdenum Catalyzed Deoxydehydration Reactions,” $240,000, 2018-2021
  • Co-Principal Investigator, Department of Defense, “A Single Crystal X-ray Diffractometer for Collaborative Teaching and Research at an Undergraduate Institution,” $599,077, 2017-2018

Selected Publications:

  • With M.E. Fieser, S.D. Schimler, L.A. Mitchell, E.G. Wilborn, L.T. Hogan, B. Benson, A.M. LaPointe, and W.B. Tolman, “Dual-Catalytic Decarbonylation of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters to Form Olefins,” Chem. Commun., 54, 7669-7672, 2018
  • With B. Dereli, M.A. Ortuno, H.E. Johnson, M.A. Hillmyer, C.J. Cramer and W.B. Tolman, “Selective Decarbonylation of Fatty Acid Esters to Linear α-Olefins,” Organometallics 36, 2956-2964, 2017
  • With M.A. Hillmyer and W.B. Tolman, “Anhydride-Additive-Free Nickel-Catalyzed Deoxygenation of Carboxylic Acids to Olefins,” Organometallics 36, 506-509, 2017
  • With M.O. Miranda, K. Ding, B. Dereli, M.A. Ortuno, A.M. LaPointe, G.W. Coates, C.J. Cramer and W.B. Tolman, “Nickel Catalysts for the Dehydrative Decarbonylation of Carboxylic Acids to Alkenes,” Organometallics 35, 2391-2400, 2016
  • With W.B. Tolman, M.A. Hillmyer  and L.T. Hogan, “Process for the preparation of olefins via catalytic decarbonylation of esters,” US 20160194276 A1 20160707, 2016
  • With K. Ding, J. Shin, Y. Lee, T. Quinn, W.B. Tolman and M.A. Hillmyer, “High-Performance Pressure Sensitive Adhesives from Renewable Triblock Copolymers,” Biomacromolecules 16, 2537-2539, 2015
  • With L.T. Hogan, M.A. Hillmyer and W.B. Tolman, “Olefins from Biomass Feedstocks: Catalytic Ester Decarbonylation and Tandem Heck-type Coupling,” Chem. Commun. 51, 2731-2733, 2014
  • With J. Byun and K.M. Nicholas, “Copper-Catalyzed Csp2-H Amidation of Unactivated Arenes by N-Tosyloxycarbamates,” Chem. Commun., 10965-10967, 2013 (Highligted in ChemInform, 2014, 45, 13-078.)

Education:

B.S., Chemistry, St. Stephens College (Delhi)

M.S., Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi

PhD, Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Languages:

English, Hindi, Malayalam

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