Journal: Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews

Abbreviation

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Journal Volumes

ISSN

1751-8253
1751-7192

Description

Filters

2019 - 201912020 - 20231
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Publications 1 - 2 of 2
  • The Green Chemistry Initiative’s contributions to education at the University of Toronto and beyond
    Item type: Journal Article
    Waked, Alexander E.; Demmans, Karl Z.; Hems, Rachel F.; et al. (2019)
    Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews
    The Green Chemistry Initiative (GCI) is a student-led group founded in 2012 with the primary mission of promoting green chemistry education at the University of Toronto. In order to achieve this, the GCI’s activities have included undergraduate curriculum development, arrangement of an external speaker seminar series, and organization of an annual three-day symposium along with biweekly trivia challenges. To broaden education beyond the Department of Chemistry, a successful YouTube video campaign articulating the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry in an accessible manner has also been undertaken (acquiring over 40,000 views), in addition to monthly blog posts and conference/outreach presentations. Descriptions of these activities are discussed in this paper, along with the resulting impact they have had. Through such efforts, undergraduate and graduate students are showing a growing understanding of the relevance of green chemistry in today’s world, with the GCI serving as a platform for similar groups to build upon across Canada.
  • Solvent-free synthesis of photoluminescent carbon nanoparticles from lignin-derived monomers as feedstock
    Item type: Journal Article
    da Cruz, Márcia G.A.; Onwumere, Joy N.; Chen, Jianhong; et al. (2023)
    Green Chemistry Letters and Reviews
    Photoluminescent carbon nanoparticles (CNPs), such as carbon dots (CDs), have attracted much attention owing to a unique set of properties, like high and tunable fluorescence. In this way, the use of carbon-rich lignin has been demonstrated to be a sustainable approach to producing a broad range of photoluminescent CNPs. However, the valorization of this complex polyphenol is limited when it comes to green and efficient ways of conversion. In addition, the existing solvothermal approaches using lignin often result in CDs with low photoluminescence, while flammable and/or toxic solvents are employed. Here, we depolymerized technical lignins, i.e. kraft and soda, through electroreductive cleavage in two different sustainable media: deep eutectic solvent and levulinic acid. After depolymerization, lignin-derived monomers were generated, with a predominance of aryl ether and phenolic groups, which were further combined with 1,2-Phenylenediamine to produce N-doped CNPs in a solvent-free approach. Photoluminescent CNPs with varied sizes were generated (5-50 nm), which presented a wide photoluminescence emission, from blue to red, depending on solvent polarity. These results demonstrate a feasible and sustainable route for the solvent-free synthesis of photoluminescent CNPs using lignin-derived monomers as carbon source, which may find applications in a wide range of fields.
Publications 1 - 2 of 2