The NoNoMeCat Network, the Swiss Catalysis Community (SwissCat) and SusChem Switzerland invites industrial and academic scientists to join the NoNoMeCat Symposium 2019 that is organized on the occasion of the 4th NoNoMeCat annual meeting. The program includes seven expert talks in the field of non-noble metal catalysis including Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and also provides a platform for younger scientists to present their research as poster presentation.

The Syngenta Research Center in Stein offers a perfect platform to exchange latest findings and to discuss trends and efforts to more sustainable and less toxic catalytic reactions. 

Confirmed Speakers:

  • Prof. Paul Knochel, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, GER
  • Prof. Deborah Kays, University of Nottingham
  • Prof. Miquel Costas, University of Girona
  • Prof. Jeremy Harvey, University of Leuven
  • Prof. Bert Klein Gebbink, Utrecht University
  • Dr. Tomas Smejkal, Syngenta Crop Protection AG
  • Dr. Stephan Bachmann, F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG

Flyer NoNoMeCat Symposium 2019

Non-Noble Metal Catalysis (NoNoMeCat)

NoNoMeCat is a 4-year Marie Sklodowska-Curie Initial Training Network (MSCA-ITN-ETN) project starting on January 1st 2015. The NoNoMeCat project brings together an academic/industrial consortium with complementary skills consisting of 9 partners and 5 partner organisations, from 7 countries. NoNoMeCat will enrol 13 Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) who will receive structured training in experimental and theoretical aspects of non-noble metal chemistry as well as transferable skills such as research integrity, scientific communication and public outreach. Tight integration of non-academic partners will expose all ESRs to aspects of both fundamental interdisciplinary research and industrial application, paving the way for long-standing intersectorial collaborations.

Transition metal catalysts are formidable tools towards greener chemistry, allowing for low-waste, energy-efficient, and selective reactions. However, the noble metals (Ru, Os, Rh, Ir, Pd, Pt) that are currently most common in homogeneous catalysts suffer from high toxicity and environmental impact in addition to their scarcity and ensuing high cost. First-row metals (Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) are emerging as environmentally benign alternatives, but to this day rarely equal the performance of their noble counterparts. The NoNoMeCat network aims at providing excellent and structured interdisciplinary training to a generation of young researchers in the field of Non-Noble Metal homogeneous Catalysis who will push the boundaries of the field in terms of:

  • catalyst stability
  • selectivity
  • mechanistic understanding
  • scalability

These challenges are addressed in three areas of high fundamental and practical significance: the oxidation of hydrocarbons, the formation of new C-X bonds (C-C, C-N) bonds through cross-coupling reactions, and clean energy production.