Organic Materials Chemistry

Cape Breton University, Sydney, Nova Scotia
What the facility does

Analyzes surface area, pore size, pore volume of various materials and prepares such materials in the wet chemistry area

Areas of expertise

This research combines two important fields, functionalized nanomaterials and catalysis. By preparing proline or N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-based monomers and incorporating them into silica-based nanomaterials, greener, reusable, recoverable, heterogeneous organic catalysts are being developed. These new materials offer many advantages over current methods including: reusability as heterogeneous catalysts, control of chiral information by generating chiral microenvironments inside the porous material, thermal and chemical stability and simple synthesis by a modular approach.  The resulting materials will be used as new heterogeneous catalysts in critical asymmetric C-C bond forming reactions that are commonly used in pharmaceutical synthesis, i.e. the aldol and Michael reactions.

Research services

BET Surface Area and Pore Properties Analysis and Cyrogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy

Sectors of application
  • Agriculture, animal science and food
  • Chemical industries
  • Clean technology
  • Environmental technologies and related services
  • Fisheries and aquaculture
  • Forestry and forest-based industries
  • Mining, minerals and metals
  • Ocean industries
Equipment Function
ASAP 2020 Physisorption Analyzer Measures surface areas, pore volumes, pore diameters and densities of solid materials
Fume hoods (2) Two large 8 ft fume hoods are used to conduct wet chemistry experiments
Cryogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy  
  • B.W. BioEnergy Inc.
  • Copol International Ltd.
  • Louisbourg Seafoods Ltd
  • SeaPur
  • Natural Ocean Pdts
  • Quality Concrete
Title URL
Cape Breton University to install cryo-TEM microscope https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/cbu-super-microscope-cryo-tem-funding-1.3501032