Welcome to the website of the Barta Group!
Research Interests
Research in the Barta group is centered around sustainability and Green Chemistry with a special focus on the conversion of renewable resources and catalysis using earth-abundant metals. Two main research lines are being pursued:
1.) Synthesis and characterization of novel heterogeneous catalysis for the cleavage of crude lignocellulose resources, including lignocellulose pre-treatment and characterization
2.) New homogeneous catalytic methods for the atom-economic functionalization of the obtained building blocks.
A variety of research lines include reductive and hydrogen-neutral depolymerisation and defunctionalization of lignin to aromatic monomers. Similarly, reductive approaches using copper catalysts are used for the conversion of cellulose and derived platform chemicals to a variety of end products. Here, the central aim is to find new concepts that allow to deal with complexity and changed material inputs and to identify causes of and minimize side reactions which lead to decreased product yields. In addition, we are involved in developing new methods for iron-catalysed coupling of alcohols and amines as well as hydrogenation of carbonyl compounds including esters also in an asymmetric fashion.
The Group
News
The awarded project ‘PURE’ aims to explore cleaner and more sustainable catalytic pathways for the conversion of renewable resources to valuable building blocks that are of interest for industrial partners.
Congratulations to all past and present group members who have made great contributions!
Read more here: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cctc.201900930
https://www.rug.nl/news/2019/03/first-n3c-award-for-katalin-barta-
The paper is now online in @RSC_Adv !
Two-step catalytic conversion of lignocellulose to alkanes - now published in RSC Advances https://t.co/GNOKndFeFC
Professor Katalin Barta and Professor Ben #Feringa awarded with Proof of Concept-grants worth €150,000 each, by @ERC_Research. The grants will help them explore the commercial or societal potential of their ERC-funded discoveries. https://t.co/cZSAUiCgwc #ERC #research https://t.co/q0qpjPySS5
Ben was awarded a PoC grant, so expect photopharmacology to come to a clinic near you soon! @StratinghInst @ERC_Research #ERCPoC At the same time, congratulations to @Barta_Lab for their PoC grant. https://t.co/8cjKaQm0i8
CLEAN it up! Great news! Katalin received an ERC PoC Grant worth €150,000. The awarded project 'PURE' aims to explore clean and sustainable catalytic pathways for the conversion of renewable resources to valuable building blocks with industrial interest. #ERCPoC @ERC_Research https://t.co/Wgx4Kcedd5