Donald Darensbourg

About

Donald Darensbourg is a Distinguished Professor at Texas A&M University College of Arts and Sciences, with a focus on catalysis, inorganic materials, organometallic chemistry, polymer science, and sustainability research. His research centers on the chemistry associated with carbon dioxide, exploring its potential as a source of chemical carbon and aiming to develop improved synthetic routes for polycarbonates, which are traditionally produced through hazardous and expensive processes. His work involves establishing mechanistic views of bond-forming processes resulting from carbon dioxide insertion into various bonds, and utilizing in situ spectroscopy methods such as FTIR/ATR to study these reactions. Additionally, his research addresses the development of structural and reactivity models for catalysts used in polyether and polycarbonate synthesis from epoxides and CO2, with an emphasis on understanding reaction kinetics and mechanisms to facilitate industrial applications.

Research topics

• Chemistry
• Organic chemistry
• Materials science
• Polymer chemistry
• Waste management
• Physical chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Chemical engineering
• Composite material
• Biochemical engineering

Selected publications

• Progress in the catalytic reactions of CO₂ and epoxides to selectively provide cyclic or polymeric carbonates

  Green Chemistry · 2022 · 148 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  This review of the metal- and organo-catalyzed coupling of CO 2 and epoxides (oxiranes) to provide selectively cyclic or polymeric carbonates is intended to highlight recent achievements in this area of research.

  DOI

• CO2-Based Block Copolymers: Present and Future Designs

  Trends in Chemistry · 2020 · 109 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  DOI

• Randomly Distributed Sulfur Atoms in the Main Chains of CO₂‐Based Polycarbonates: Enhanced Optical Properties

  Angewandte Chemie International Edition · 2020 · 65 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  >260 °C, suggesting little loss in the thermal stability compared to the polycarbonate. Hence, modification of the topological structure of the polycarbonate is an efficient method of obtaining polymeric materials with enhanced optical properties without compromising thermal performance.

  DOI

• Structural Metamorphoses of <scp>d</scp>-Xylose Oxetane- and Carbonyl Sulfide-Based Polymers <i>In Situ</i> during Ring-Opening Copolymerizations

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2023-08-14 · 39 citations

  articleOpen accessCorresponding

  Polymers constructed from copolymerizations of carbohydrates with C1 feedstocks are promising targets that provide transformation of sustainably sourced building blocks into next-generation, environmentally degradable plastic materials. In this work, the initial intention was to expand beyond polycarbonates prepared by the copolymerization of oxetanes derived from d-xylose with CO2 and incorporate sulfur atoms through the establishment of monothiocarbonates that would provide the ability to modu…

  PublisherDOI

• Post-polymerization functionalization of aliphatic polycarbonates using click chemistry

  Polymer Chemistry · 2024-01-01 · 27 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Presently there is much interest in the synthesis of degradable, more sustainable polymers from resources that minimize the use of petroleum-based feedstocks.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Biodegradable Copolymers Produced from Carbon Dioxide and Epoxides by Well-defined Metal Catalysts:Mechanistic and Technology Enabling Studies

  NSF · $969k · 2006–2012

• Catalytic Studies of the Production of Biodegradable Polymeric Materials from Carbon Dioxide and Renewable Resources

  NSF · $537k · 2011–2015

Frequent coauthors

• Joseph H. Reibenspies

  179 shared

• Marcetta Y. Darensbourg

  104 shared

• J.C. Yarbrough

  82 shared

• Gulzar A. Bhat

  University of Kashmir

  46 shared

• Samuel J. Kyran

  Texas A&M University

  46 shared

• D.R. Billodeaux

  39 shared

• Ming Luo

  31 shared

• Ashfaq A. Bengali

  Texas A&M University at Qatar

  30 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Chemistry

  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  1968

Awards & honors

• SEC Faculty Achievement Award (2023)
• Michele Aresta Prize in CO2 Utilization Research Award (ICCD…
• Member, National Academy of Sciences (2022)
• American Academy of Arts & Sciences Fellow (2019)
• ACS Inorganic Award for Undergraduate Researcher - Tucker Fo…

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