UTA chemists to develop a new class of catalysts to transform cheap, widely available hydrocarbons into molecules used in key industrial processes
Chemists at The University of Texas at Arlington are developing novel ways to use metal ions to activate simple hydrocarbons present in natural gas or petroleum products to produce more complex molecules valuable to the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. The research also involves developing a new portable, easy-to-use sensor to detect the presence of some specific gaseous hydrocarbons in plant product storage facilities. Current technology is more complex, expensive and not portable. “We want to develop a new class of catalysts to do difficult chemistry, like activating inert