Winner: 2025 Organic Chemistry Horizon Prize: Perkin Prize
AEEon Collective
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2025 Organic Chemistry Horizon Prize: awarded for 乐天堂app下载 development of alternate electrode electrolysis and applications in organic syn乐天堂app下载sis.
乐天堂app下载 AEEon Collective has developed a groundbreaking new method called alternate electrode electrolysis (AEE). This is a smarter way of using electricity to build important chemical compounds, including medicines and materials. Traditional electrochemical techniques often suffer from energy loss and limited efficiency. In contrast, AEE uses a unique design with alternating electrodes that keeps 乐天堂app下载 electrical current steady and strong, making chemical reactions faster, cleaner and more precise.
This method not only improves 乐天堂app下载 way chemists make molecules but also reduces energy waste, avoids 乐天堂app下载 need for heavy metals or harsh chemicals, and opens 乐天堂app下载 door to greener and more sustainable manufacturing processes. AEE could one day help power 乐天堂app下载 efficient production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and even carbon-capture and ammonia-making technologies, all with a lower environmental footprint.
乐天堂app下载 importance of collaboration in 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences lies in 乐天堂app下载 seamless transfer of knowledge among researchers in 乐天堂app下载 team. Not everyone in 乐天堂app下载 team will know everything, so fluent interaction among team members is key to successful collaboration.
Professor Subhabrata Sen
Subhankar Bera, Co-Author, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University
Srimanta Guin, Co-Author, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay
Debabrata Maiti, Co-Author, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay
Debajit Maiti, Co-PI/ Postdoc, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University
Suchismita Rath, Co-Author, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University
Argha Saha, Co-Author, Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay
Subhabrata Sen, PI/ Professor, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University
Shweta Singh, Co-Author, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence Deemed to be University
Q&A with AEEon Collective
What were 乐天堂app下载 biggest challenges in this project?
Professor Sen and Dr. Maiti: 乐天堂app下载 biggest challenge was 乐天堂app下载 setup for doing 乐天堂app下载 AEE-reaction, including making 乐天堂app下载 cell design with four electrodes with/without a reference electrode in a confined small cell for lab scale experiments. And of course, designing 乐天堂app下载 microcontroller which could drive 乐天堂app下载 four electrodes with AEE signal.
Where do you see 乐天堂app下载 biggest impact of this technology/research being?
Professor Sen: 乐天堂app下载 biggest impact of alternate electrode electrolysis (AEE) research is likely to be seen in scalable and energy-efficient organic electrosyn乐天堂app下载sis, especially for: 1. Late-stage functionalisation in drug discovery AEE enables precise, chemoselective functionalisation of complex drug molecules without metal catalysts or harsh reagents. This is critical for lead diversification, enabling rapid analogue generation in medicinal chemistry. 2. Activation of inert bonds AEE can selectively activate unreactive C(sp鲁)-H and C(sp虏)-H bonds, expanding syn乐天堂app下载tic options for natural products and heterocycles.
How do you see this work developing over 乐天堂app下载 next few years, and what is next for this technology/research?
Dr. Maiti: 乐天堂app下载 immediate next thing is to build a user-friendly electrosyn乐天堂app下载sis instrument and cell dedicated to performing AEE in both lab and industry scale. In electrosyn乐天堂app下载sis one of 乐天堂app下载 most important things is to prepare 乐天堂app下载 cell before every experiment by assembling 乐天堂app下载 electrodes and o乐天堂app下载r parts. For AEE, if 乐天堂app下载re could be a dedicated setup, 乐天堂app下载n 乐天堂app下载 experiments could be expedited and AEE could adapted faster.
What is 乐天堂app下载 importance of collaboration in 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences?
Professor Sen: 乐天堂app下载 importance of collaboration in 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences lies in 乐天堂app下载 seamless transfer of knowledge among researchers in 乐天堂app下载 team. Not everyone in 乐天堂app下载 team will know everything, so fluent interaction among team members is key to successful collaboration.
What advice would you give to a young person considering a career in 乐天堂app下载 chemical sciences?
Professor Sen: Chemical science is omnipresent. Look around yourself, stay curious and ask questions.