iCAST Programme Lead Dr Simon Freakley is part of team awarded prestigious Royal Society of Chemistry Prize

The research collaboration behind ‘A greener route to nylon production’ wins the Horizon accolade, which celebrates discoveries and innovations pushing the boundaries of science.

Dr Simon Freakley is a member of the ‘Greener route to nylon production’ group awarded the esteemed Royal Society of Chemistry’s (RSC’s) Environment, Sustainability and Energy Horizon Prize.

The team is a collaboration between Cardiff University, UBE Corporation, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Bath, the Research Complex at Harwell and Lehigh University.

Every year, nearly 2.5 million tons of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is used to upgrade the raw materials (feedstocks) used in chemical manufacturing, including in the manufacturing of nylon.

The team’s research offers a breakthrough for producing cyclohexanone oxime, a crucial intermediate in the synthesis of Nylon-6. They have created a catalyst system that can generate H₂O₂ on demand, using readily available feedstocks, and produce cyclohexanone oxime at the same time in one reactor.

Dr Freakley, who is an iCAST Lead for the biobased feedstocks core research programme, said: “Combining these two processes presented a significant challenge in catalyst design as each process works optimally at very different conditions. It’s a testament to the teamwork and industrial collaboration, spanning materials synthesis, characterisation, and reaction design, that allowed us to achieve this.”   

The adoption of this technology paves the way for cleaner, more efficient chemical production by generating H₂O₂ where it is needed. And, existing infrastructure can likely be adapted to use the technology, lowering the barrier to industrial adoption. The study was recently reported in Science: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abl4822

Dr Helen Pain, Chief Executive of the RSC, said: “The chemical sciences cover a rich and diverse collection of disciplines, from fundamental understanding of materials and the living world to applications in medicine, sustainability, technology and more. By working together across borders and disciplines, chemists are finding solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

The RSC Prizes have recognised excellence in the chemical sciences for more than 150 years. This year’s winners join a prominent list of past winners in the RSC’s prize portfolio, 60 of whom have gone on to win Nobel Prizes for their work.

The Horizon Prizes highlight exciting, contemporary chemical science at the cutting edge of research and innovation. These prizes are for groups, teams, and collaborations of any form or size who are opening up new directions and possibilities in their field, through groundbreaking scientific developments.