Rauno Reitalu

In this project, TalTech, NICBP, Estonian Academy of Security Sciences, together with Neo Performance Materials Silmet and TSR Innovation and will address three challenges set by the companies. First, the development of more sustainable mechanochemical technologies for the production of rare earth element compounds from secondary resources, such as REE oxides, carbonates, or chlorides. Second, the development of mechanochemically enhanced solid–liquid and liquid–liquid extraction and separation processes using supramolecular chemistry, including extraction process modelling. Third, the assessment of technological risks and the development of emergency response protocols for chemical rescue units in order to reduce the risk of accidents and improve safety in the rare earth element processing chemical industry. As a result, best performing chemical technologies can be applyed by industry, helping to increase the impact potential of Estonia’s chemical industry in Europe and worldwide.

Sensing, capturing and separating enantiomers is important for environmental safety, agricultural chemistry, and drug design. The use of hemicucurbiturils is an effective strategy because of the combination of various monomers in a single-step templated mechanochemical synthesis. Due to the absence of bulk solvent the self-organizing efficiency is amplified and there is less waste - the process is green and sustainable. The current work will study the fundamentals of self-organization of hemicucurbiturils, the binding (capturing) of chiral molecules, and detecting chirality using supramolecular complexes. In the long term, the empirical observations will be combined with results from computational chemistry and cheminformatics to build models for predicting necessary monomers and reaction conditions to form macrocycles with desired properties. The outcomes of the project are expected to be highly useful for organizations and industries that monitor, use, or manufacture chiral compounds