Thanks to the María Francisca de Roviralta Foundation, IQS has acquired an IKA Screening System Package (8 cells) that will allow the university to synthesize high valued-added organic molecules by using electrochemical reactions.
Thanks to the María Francisca de Roviralta Foundation, IQS has acquired an IKA Screening System Package (8 cells) that will allow the university to synthesize high valued-added organic molecules by using electrochemical reactions.
The Organic and Pharmaceutical Chemistry Department will coordinate the use of this novel device, which allows users to conduct chemical reactions in a more sustainable manner in accordance with environmental criteria, generating less waste than a conventional approach to synthesis.
The advantages of the Organic Electrosynthesis application compared to conventional organic synthesis include greater sustainability (less waste and greater atomic economy, an especially relevant aspect in oxo-redox transformations); efficacy (greater selectivity and reactivity); and the possibility to impart advanced teaching (strategic techniques in advanced, modern chemical processes).
“For students this is an entirely novel paradigm. This approach aims to place reagents in an electrochemical cell and apply a current to them with the goal of creating chemical bonds more cleanly and efficiently. It is particularly interesting that students can compare the same reaction through the two methods in terms of efficacy, reactivity, selectivity, waste generated, and other parameters. This is clearly cutting-edge education,” claims Dr Ana Belén Cuenca, who also highlighted how this new paradigm aligns with learning aimed at the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
The professor added that this is an exciting, novel technology in our environment. IQS is one of the few pioneering centres that can boast this approach in research: “students who graduate with master’s degrees from IQS will likely be the people who bring this device to companies in the sector.”
The applications of organic electrochemistry lie in more efficient and responsible drug synthesis, the development of organic and optoelectronic materials, and the synthesis of molecules of interest for agricultural chemistry, among others.
We should highlight that the María Francisca de Roviralta Foundation forms part of the IQS Business Foundation and has already made several donations thanks to the work that it does.
The IQS Business Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation created in 1958 to promote university education, research, and the relationship between IQS and the business world. To turn this mission into a reality, the Foundation relies on the support of collaborating companies whose donations make the projects at IQS possible. These donations can be grouped into four fundamental pillars:
- Student Scholarships: we promote equal opportunities in higher education with the Corporate Scholarship Programme: Undergraduate Academic Excellence Scholarship, Financial Aid Scholarships, and IQS Master's Degree Scholarships.
For the upcoming 2023-24 academic year, Undergraduate STEM Scholarships will be implemented which promote education for women in technical areas like science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
With this initiative, the IQS Business Foundation is contributing to strengthening STEM degrees and offering professional development for women in this line of knowledge, with the goal of including new talent in research, innovation, and technology.
Technology and innovation in the classroom: We incentivize the development of research activities at IQS by acquiring state-of-the-art devices and laboratory instruments with the goal of transferring scientific advances to classrooms and companies.
Research activities: we promote the creation of knowledge, support new lines of research for scientific progress, and foster the relationship and partnerships with the MIT-Spain Program.
Classrooms, Infrastructure, and Buildings: we contribute by offering new spaces for innovation and talent development with new buildings, lecture halls, classrooms, and infrastructure.
La Fundación Empresas IQS responde a las inquietudes y necesidades de la sociedad civil y empresarial a través de la formación de los futuros profesionales, de la investigación y de la transferencia de innovación, de gestión y de valores a las empresas.