Chemistry professors Jie He and Jim Rusling have been awarded a 3-year $464,000 NSF grant from the CBET division entitled “SusChEM: C-H Bond Electroactivation of Nonpolar Organic Substrates in Water: Enzyme-Mediated Reaction Pathways in Microemulsions.”

This project will explore new electrocatalyst materials for activating enzymes in films to synthesize high value chemicals using fluids called microemulsions that are structured fluid solvents consisting of water, oil, and surfactants and are able to dissolve a wide variety of polar and non polar reactants while still maintaining a water rich environment for the enzymes.