Catalysis is one of the most crucial fields, such as alkylation reaction1, alkane aromatization and dehydrogenation2-4, bio-oil upgrading5-8, sugar utilization and ethanol conversion9. Hence, to achieve these potential reactions, the synthesis of catalysts is one of the most challenging researches. Regarding to mass/heat transportation limitation of conventional zeolites, we are focusing on the design of hierarchical zeolites, which compose of micropores and mesopores or/and macropores to facilitate to increase the selectivity of desired products and prevent catalyst deactivation. Therefore, we are developing various types of hierarchical zeolites such as Faujasite (FAU)1, 5-7, ZSM-5 (MFI)2-4, 8-9and Ferrierite (FER) nanosheets10. In addition, we are not only focusing on the monofunctional catalyst to utilize in the reactions, but we are also focusing on the development of hybrid catalysts. It is undeniable that there are a large number of crucial chemicals, which can be produced using at least two types of active sites, for example, Brønsted acid/Lewis acid sites and acid/basic sites. From these perspectives, we are developing metals modified zeolites and also zeolite-based hybrid catalysts, such as zeolite@Metal-organic Frameworks (MOFs) composite7, zeolite@zeolite composites and porous silica/alumina composites for achieving the reactions.

 References

  1. Rodaum, C.; Thivasasith, A.; Iadrat, P.; Kidkhunthod, P.; Pengpanich, S.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Ge‐Substituted Hierarchical Ferrierite for n‐pentane Cracking to Light Olefins: Mechanistic Investigations via In‐situ DRIFTS Studies and DFT Calculations 
    ChemCatChem., 2021, https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202101045

  2. Salakhum, S.; Prasertsab, A.; Klinyod, S.; Saenlung, K.; Witoon, T.; Wattanakit, C.* 
    Sustainable transformation of natural silica-rich solid and waste to hierarchical zeolites for sugar conversion to hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF)
    Microporous and Mesoporous Mater., 2021, 111252.

  3. Wetchasat, P.; Salakhum, S.*; Imyen, T.; Suttipat, D.; Wannapakdee, W.; Ketkaew, M.; Prasertsab, A.; Kidkhunthod, P.; Witoon, T.; Wattanakit, C.                            
    One-Pot Synthesis of Ultra-Small Pt Dispersed on Hierarchical Zeolite Nanosheet Surfaces for Mild Hydrodeoxygenation of 4-Propylphenol
    Catalysts2021, 11, 333.

  4. Iadrat, P.; Hori, N.; Atithep, T.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Effect of Pore Connectivity of Pore-Opened Hierarchical MOR Zeolites on Catalytic Behaviors and Coke Formation in Ethanol Dehydration
    ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 2021, 13, 8294-8305.

  5. Suttipat, D.; Saenluang, K.; Wannapakdee, W.; Dugkhuntod, P.; Ketkaew, M.; Pornsetmetakul, P.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Fine-tuning the surface acidity of hierarchical zeolite composites for methanol-to-olefins (MTO) reaction
    Fuel., 2020, 286, 119306.

  6. Ketkaew, M.; Klinyod, S.; Saenluang, K.; Rodaum, C.; Thivasasith, A.; Kidkhunthod, P.; Wattanakit, C.*

    Fine-tuning the chemical state and acidity of ceria incorporated in hierarchical zeolites for ethanol dehydration
    Chem. Commun., 2020, 56, 11394-11397.

  7. Imyen, T.; Wannapakdee, W.; Ittisanronnachai, S.; Witoon, T.; Wattanakit, C.*




  8. , 4, 1126-1134.

  9. Ketkaew, M.; Suttipat, D.; Kidkhunthod, P.; Witoon, T.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Nanoceria-modified platinum supported on hierarchical zeolites for selective alcohol oxidation
    RSC Adv.2019, 9, 36027-36033.

  10. Suttipat, D.; Yutthalekha, T.; Wannapakdee, W.; Dugkhuntod, P.; Wetchasat, P.; Kidkhunthod, P.;
    Wattanakit, C.*
    Tunable Acid‐Base Bifunction of Hierarchical Aluminum‐Rich Zeolites for the  One‐Pot Tandem Deacetalization‐Henry Reaction
    ChemPlusChem2019, 84, 1–6.

  11. Imyen, T.; Wannapakdee, W.; Limtrakul, J.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Role of Hierarchical Micro-Mesoporous Structure of ZSM-5 Derived from an Embedded Nanocarbon Cluster Synthesis Approach in Isomerization of Alkenes, Catalytic Cracking and Hydrocracking of Alkanes.
    Fuel, 2019, 254, 115593–115605.

  12. Dugkhuntod, P.; Imyen, T.*; Wannapakdee, W.; Yutthalekha.; Salakhum, S.; Wattanakit, C.
    Synthesis of Hierarchical ZSM-12 Nanolayers for Levulinic Acid Esterification with Ethanol to Ethyl Levulinate.
    RSC Adv. 2019, 9, 18087–18097.

  13. Wannapakdee, W.; Meng, L.; van Hoof, Arno J. F.; Bolshakov, A.; Wattanakit, C.; Hensen, E. J. M.
    The Important Role of Rubidium Hydroxide in the Synthesis of Hierarchical ZSM‐5 Zeolite Using Cetyltrimethylammonium as Structure‐Directing Agent.
    Eur. J. Inorg. Chem. 2019, 2493–2497.

  14. Wannapakdee, W.; Yutthalekha, T.; Dugkhuntod, P.; Rodponthukwaji, K.; Thivasasith, A.; Nokbin, S.; Witoon, T.; Pengpanich, S.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Dehydrogenation of propane to propylene using promoter-free hierarchical Pt/silicalite-1 nanosheets.
    Catalysts2019, 9, 174.

  15. Shetsiri, S.; Thivasasith, A.; Wannapakdee, W.; Saenluang, K.; Wetchasat, P.; Salakhum, S.; Nokbin, S.; Limtrakul, J.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Sustainable production of ethylene from bioethanol over hierarchical ZSM-5 nanosheets.
    Sustainable Energy & Fuels2019, 3, 115-126.

  16. Wannapakdee, W.; Suttipat, D.; Dugkhuntod, P.; Yutthalekha, T.; Thivasasith, A.; Kidkhunthod, P.; Nokbin, S.; Pengpanich, S.; Limtrakul, J.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Aromatization of C5 hydrocarbons over Ga-modified hierarchical HZSM-5 nanosheets. 
    Fuel, 2019, 236, 1243-1253.

  17. Suttipat, D.; Wannapakdee, W.; Yutthalekha, T.; Ittisanronnachai, S.; Ungpittagul, T.; Phomphrai, K.; Bureekaew, S.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Hierarchical FAU/ZIF‑8 hybrid materials as highly efficient acid-base catalysts for aldol condensation. 
    ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces2018, 10, 16358-16366.

  18. Salakhum, S.; Yutthalekha, T.; Chareonpanich, M.; Limtrakul J.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Synthesis of hierarchical faujasite nanosheets from corn cob ash-derived nanosilica as efficient catalysts for hydrogenation of lignin-derived alkylphenols. 
    Microporous and Mesoporous Materials2018, 258, 141-150.

  19. Yutthalekha, T.; Suttipat, D.; Salakhum, S.; Thivasasith, A.; Nokbin, S.; Limtrakul J.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Aldol condensation of biomass-derived platform molecules over amine-grafted hierarchical FAU-type zeolite nanosheets featuring basic sites.
    Chemical Communications2017, 53, 12185—12188 (Back cover page).

  20. Rodponthukwaji, K.; Wattanakit, C.*; Yutthalekha, T.;  Assavapanumat, S.; Warakulwit, C.; Wannapakdee, W.; Limtrakul, J.
    Catalytic upgrading of carboxylic acids as bio-oil models over hierarchical ZSM-5 obtained via an organosilane approach.
    RSC Advances2017, 7, 35581-35589.

  21. Yutthalekha, T.; Wattanakit, C.; Warakulwit, C.; Wannapakdee, W.; Rodponthukwaji, K.; Witoon, T.; Limtrakul, J.* 
    Hierarchical FAU-type zeolite nanosheets as green and sustainable catalysts for Benzylation of Toluene.
    Journal of Cleaner Production2017, 142 (3), 1244-1251.

  22. Warakulwit, C.; Yadnum, S.; Boonyuen, C.; Wattanakit, C.; Karajic, A.; Garrigue, P.; Mano, N.; Bradshaw, D.; Limtrakul, J.; Kuhn, A.
    Elaboration of metal organic framework hybrid materials with hierarchical porosity by electrochemical deposition-​dissolution.
    CrystEngComm2016, 18, 5095-5100.

  23. Wannapakdee, W.; Wattanakit, C.*; Paluka, V.; Yutthalekha, T.; Limtrakul, J.
    One-​pot synthesis of novel hierarchical bifunctional Ga​/HZSM-​5 nanosheets for propane aromatization.
    RSC Advances2016, 6, 2875-2881.

  24. Wuamprakhon, P.; Wattanakit, C.; Warakulwit, C.; Yutthalekha, T.; Wannapakdee, W.; Ittisanronnachai, S.; Limtrakul, J. 
    Direct synthesis of hierarchical ferrierite nanosheet assemblies via an organosilane template approach and determination of their catalytic activity.
    Microporous and Mesoporous Materials2016, 219, 1–9.

 

Aldol condensation of biomass-derived platform molecules over amine-grafted hierarchical FAU-type zeolite nanosheets (Zeolean) featuring basic sites

 

Enantioselective synthesis and separation are of crucial importance for many potential applications ranging from sensing to catalysis. We have successfully elaborated chiral imprinted mesoporous platinum, obtained by the electrochemical reduction of platinum salts in the simultaneous presence of a liquid crystal phase of nonionic surfactants and various chiral template molecules, such as enantiomers of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), mandelic acid and phenylethanol. The chiral encoded mesoporous platinum perfectly retains the chiral information after removal of the template, confirmed by a very significant discrimination between two enantiomers when using these materials as electrodes in Differential Pulse Voltammetry. Interestingly, such nanostructured metals are also able to break the symmetry during the electrosynthesis of chiral molecules such as mandelic acid, and phenylethanol. We were able to demonstrate that by optimizing the electrochemical synthesis parameters it is possible to achieve very high enantiomeric excess (>90 %). Apart from asymmetric synthesis, chiral separation can also be achieved using such imprinted mesoporous platinum as a stationary phase in a microfluidic channel. It is possible to fine-tune the electrostatic interactions between the encoded surfaces and the corresponding chiral molecules by applying an electric field, allowing the complete separation of chiral compounds. Therefore, these novel materials open up new promising perspectives in various fields ranging from electrosynthesis to chiral separation technologies.

References:

  1. Wattanakit, C.; Kuhn, A. book chaper in the title of Chiral Metal Electrodes for Enantioselective Analysis, Synthesis, and Separation was published by Sustainable and Functional Redox Chemistry 
    https://doi.org/10.1039/9781839164828-00274

  2. Butcha, S.; Yu, J.; Pasom, Z.; Goudeau, B.; Wattanakit, C*.; Sojic, N*.; Kuhn, A*.
    Electrochemiluminescent enantioselective detection with chiral-imprinted mesoporous metal surfaces 
    Chem. Commun., 2022https://doi.org/10.1039/D2CC02562K


 

Aldol condensation of biomass-derived platform molecules over amine-grafted hierarchical FAU-type zeolite nanosheets featuring basic sites.

 

Energy demand and chemical consumption have been increased in the past century due to the limitation of fossil fuels, and therefore other alternative renewable resources have gained a lot of interest from researchers around the world.  One of the most interested resources is Biomass. Biomass has the potential to supply renewable transportation fuels, organic chemicals and materials demand. In our group, we divided our research topics into three different topics, which are sugar conversion to chemicals, bioethanol/methanol to chemicals, and bio-oil upgrading to chemicals and transportation fuels.

Selected publications


  1. Salakhum, S.; Prasertsab, A.; Klinyod, S.; Saenlung, K.; Witoon, T.; Wattanakit, C.* 
  2. Yutthalekha, T.; Suttipat, D.; Salakhum, S.; Thivasasith, A.; Nokbin, S.; Limtrakul J.; Wattanakit, C.*
    Aldol condensation of biomass-derived platform molecules over amine-grafted hierarchical FAU-type zeolite nanosheets featuring basic sites.
    Chemical Communications2017, 53, 12185—12188 (Back cover page).

  3. Rodponthukwaji, K.; Wattanakit, C.*; Yutthalekha, T.;  Assavapanumat, S.; Warakulwit, C.; Wannapakdee, W.; Limtrakul, J.
    Catalytic upgrading of carboxylic acids as bio-oil models over hierarchical ZSM-5 obtained via an organosilane approach.
    RSC Advances2017, 7, 35581-35589.

 

ChiraChem Project

 

International Research Project (IRP) « ChiraChem »

Principle investigators:
Prof. Alexander Kuhn / Bordeaux, France
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chularat Wattanakit / School of Energy Science and Engineering / VISTEC, Thailand

Partners:
Prof. Adrian Flood / School of Energy Science and Engineering / VISTEC, Thailand

 

The roots

A very fruitful long-term collaboration thatstarted in 2006 with Prof. Jumras Limtrakul and continued in 2015 with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Chularat Wattanakit

 Total output:

  • >20 high impact publications
  • >10 co-supervised PhD students

Precursor CNRS project: ChiraCat

 

Summary of the kick-off meeting and symposium of the French-Thai Collaborative Project: 28 June 2022

 
The meeting and symposium were organized in a hybrid format. The event took place both onsite and online while all speakers gave their presentations onsite at VISTEC Central Lecture Theatre. The meeting began with the president of VISTEC, Professor Dr. Jumras Limtrakul, outlining the vision and path of VISTEC research development. President Jumras suggests that the most effective goal for VISTEC Frontier Research would be to have the best combination of "advancement of knowledge" and "immediate applications", aiming to be in line with the great research work done by Louise Pasteur. This would speed up the transfer of new frontier discoveries to significant uses.
 
Dr. Guillaume Da, Attaché for Scientific Cooperation and Higher Education from the French Embassy in Thailand, addressed the meeting that the French Embassy has been supporting universities and research centers in Thailand, and will continue to do so strongly. The establishment of joint curricula, mobility of staff and students between Thailand and France, and the promotion of higher studies are on the top agenda. He also emphasized the importance of the “Franco-Thai Year of Innovation” that started in 2022.
 
Professor Dominique Baillargeat, the regional director of the Center National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) representative office in ASEAN based in Singapore, described the role of the CNRS as to establish and consolidate international research projects, and create mobility of researchers and students in ASEAN countries and France. He mentioned that the CNRS has developed 75 International Research Laboratories (IRL) with strategic partners across the world. There are currently 6 IRLs in Southeast Asia. Thailand has one IRL which is IRASEC. There are 7 International Research Projects (IRP) in ASEAN countries. One of the IRPs, which is ChiraChem, is in Thailand.
 
Assistant Professor Dr. Chularat Wattanakit presented the past achievements resulting from the collaboration between VISTEC and Bordeaux. The collaboration was highly successful and resulted in several publications in high-quality journals of the Nature Index category. Dr. Chularat also cited examples of students who went through the VISTEC-Bordeaux collaboration and who won several prizes and awards. Some of the graduates ended up working with the PTT group of companies. Before describing the IRP ChiraChem, Professor Dr. Alexander Kuhn of Bordeaux described the roots of a very fruitful long-term collaboration that started in 2006 with Professor Dr. Jumras Limtrakul and continued in 2015 with Assistant Professor Dr. Chularat Wattanakit. The outputs were impressive, with more than 20 high-impact publications and more than 10 co-supervised PhD students. Professor Kuhn also outlined the nature of the work of the IRP ChiraChem which involves principal investigators from Bordeaux and VISTEC, and partners from Rennes and VISTEC. He also hopes that the collaboration will continue even after the support to IRP ChiraChem ends in 2026.
Presentations on ChiraChem started with Professor Neso Sojic who spoke on “Ultrasensitive electrochemiluminescence microscopy of single entities: cells and mitochondria” where he used Chinese hamster ovarian (CHO) cells as a model for the work. He demonstrated that the electrochemiluminescence (ECL) technique is extremely sensitive and requires no external light source. The work has been extended to single-molecule ECL imaging.
 
Dr. Serena Arnaboldi presented her work on “Unconventional electrochemical approaches for chiral recognition” where she described enantioselective actuation with bipolar electrochemistry. In this case, the conversion of L-DOPA and D-DOPA to quinones was used as a model. Dr. Serena also presented the work on chiral-triggered autonomous motion while observing the swimmer architecture.
 
Mr. Sopon Butcha, a PhD candidate for the double degree program between Bordeaux and VISTEC, presented his work on “Asymmetric electrosynthesis of chiral molecules at modified chiral-encoded mesoporous metal surfaces” where he described the synthesis of chiral-encoded mesoporous Pt electrodes and the asymmetric synthesis of mandelic acid (MA) from phenylglyoxylic acid (PGA) using the chiral encoded metal. Another part of his work dealt with the improvement of the stability of the chiral Pt electrode by synthesizing the chiral-encoded mesoporous Pt-Ir alloy electrode.
 
Dr. Gerardo Salinas presented the work on “Hybrid light-emitting bipolar electrochemical devices for the straightforward readout of chiral information” where he described the use of light emitting diodes (LED) as a device in bipolar setup for wireless chiral discrimination. He also described the use of simultaneous double wireless chiral discrimination for D-tryptophan and L-tryptophan.
Mr. Kostiantyn Tieriekhov presented his research on “Chiral separation with capillary magneto-electrophoresis” where he described the interaction of polarized molecules with magnetized surfaces leads to chiral discrimination. Mr. Kostiantyn constructed the capillary magneto-electrophoresis set consisting of a FeNdB magnet, a capillary with Ni wire inside, and a UV detector. Preliminary experiments show promising results.
 

The 9th Franco-Thai Symposium

On 30th May 2023, France

 
We have organized the 9th Franco-Thai Symposium at Bordeaux INP in relation with the International Research Project (IRP) « ChiraChem » supported by CNRS and the Global League-2023 by PMU-B to further strengthen the fruitful collaboration between France (Prof. Alexander Kuhn, University of Bordeaux & Dr. Gabriel Loget, University of Rennes) and Thailand (Assoc. Prof. Chularat Wattanakit & Prof. Adrian Flood, Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC)). First, Prof. Isabelle Gosse, Director of ENSMAC, gave the opening-speech to welcome all guests. Then the two PI partners, Prof. Alexander Kuhn and Assoc. Prof. Chularat Wattanakit explained the importance of the collaboration, past achievement, and the future evolution of the collaboration. During the whole day scientific perspectives regarding chirality and related topics were exposed by researchers from several partners.
 

 

We are thrilled to invite you to the ChiraChem Symposium 2024, hosted by the Porous Heterogeneous Catalysis Center at the School of Energy Science and Engineering (ESE), on 10 April 2024, from 13:30 to 18:00 at VISTEC (K-Building).

Our symposium features distinguished speakers and joint Ph.D. students from Thai-French collaborations, offering an enriching experience.

The event will be graced by the esteemed team from the French Embassy in Thailand, providing valuable insights and opportunities, including Ph.D. scholarships, postdoctoral fellowships, and research grants.

Registration closes on 1 April 2024. We welcome all interested individuals to join us and anticipate fruitful discussions that will strengthen our long-term collaboration.

 


 

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