NSF Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry

Reminiscing about Chem Night at the museum!

Read about the event and why we value community engagement here at U Chem.

www.chemistry.utah.edu/history/chem...

Electrosynthesis of Agrochemicals via Alternating-Current-Driven Selective, Continuous Dehalogenation Dehalogenation is a critical transformation in chemical synthesis but remains limited by catalyst deactivation and low selectivity in industrial processes. Here, we report an alternating current (AC) ...

Check out our new @jacs.acspublications.org paper on #Electrosynthesis of Agrochemicals via #AC-Driven Selective, Continuous Dehalogenation @utahchemistry.bsky.social ! Great
@nsf-csoe.bsky.social Teamwork and collaboration with @yaoyang-cornell.bsky.social and PNNL!

pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Chemistry Department Hosts First Utah Electrochemistry Symposium - Department of Chemistry Profs. Henry White, Shelley Minteer, and Long Luo hosted the first Utah Electrochemistry Symposium (UTES) on July 25–26, 2025, at the University of Utah’s Department...

The University of Utah has a long and distinguished history in electrochemistry - and on July 25-26, the Chemistry Department hosted the first Utah Electrochemistry Symposium (UTES)!

Read more about the event:

www.chemistry.utah.edu/history/chem...

Molecular structures made from crocheting yarn (like this caffeine structure) were on display at the Chemistry Crochet Social Hour sponsored by the NSF Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry, where attendees had a chance to make their own creations.

Poster presentations take place throughout the entire conference, with many conference attendees stopping by between sessions.

Conference attendees pass through the main entrance of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to get to their next activity.

Conference attendees casually chat and play a game of giant Jenga.

Molecular structures made from crocheting yarn were on display at the Chemistry Crochet Social Hour sponsored by the @nsf-csoe.bsky.social, where attendees had a chance to make their own creations. cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs...

#ACSFall2025 #chemsky

Missouri S&T awarded five-year $19.8 million grant to lead Center for Chemical Innovation Missouri S&T has been awarded a $19.8 million collaborative agreement to renew the National Science Foundation’s Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry. This chemical innovation center will be ...

CSOE is super excited to be renewed!!! Missouri S&T awarded five-year $19.8 million grant to lead Center for Chemical Innovation news.mst.edu/2025/08/miss...

Collaborative publication in @nature.com out of Song Lin and Yue Qi's groups! @songlin1.bsky.social #NSFfunded

Origin of Selectivity in Alternating Current-Enabled Partial Reduction of (Hetero)Arenes: A Case Study of Two Consecutive Irreversible Electrochemical Steps Herein, we investigate the origin of selectivity in the alternating current (AC)-enabled partial reduction of (hetero)arenes to cyclic alkenes. Reduction of (hetero)arenes can be considered as a reaction involving two consecutive irreversible electrochemical steps: the first generates the desired cyclic alkene, while the second leads to its undesired overreduction. Conventional constant current or voltage (DC) electrolysis results in poor selectivity toward the partial reduction products, originating from overreduction and base-induced decomposition of the desired product. Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry shows that the rate constant for the first reduction (k1) exceeds that of the second one (k2). Finite element simulations based on this experimental finding semiquantitatively capture the frequency-dependent selectivity observed in AC electrolysis experiments (i.e., increasing the AC frequency enhances selectivity). The results further reveal that AC electrolysis mitigates the low selectivity by only collecting the products at the initial stage of the reduction reaction, which is mostly under a kinetically controlled regime. We then extend the finite element model and introduce ΔEFOW, the foot-of-the-wave potential difference between cyclic voltammograms of substrate and partial reduction product, as an accessible proxy for k2/k1. A ΔEFOW > 80 mV predicts synthetically useful selectivity (>30%) toward the partial reduction product below 100 Hz.

Check out our new work published @J_A_C_S ! We answer the question, "How to control the product selectivity in a reaction consisting of two consecutive irreversible echem steps by #AC electrolysis?" pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Congratulations, Mike!

Meet Anderson’s Lab Postdocs: Q&A with Lokesh and Hugo - Department of Chemistry We interviewed two postdoctoral fellows, Hugo Samayoa Ovied, and Lokesh Saravanan, to gain insights into what life is like as a postdoc here at U...

Curious about what some of our postdocs work on here at U Chem? Read our Q&A with Hugo and Lokesh from Scott Anderson's lab: