Creation of inorganic composite nanocatalysts to realize electrochemical amino acid synthesis

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K22205
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Medium-sized Section 34:Inorganic/coordination chemistry, analytical chemistry, and related fields
• Research Institution: Kyushu University
• Principal Investigator: Yamauchi Miho 九州大学, 先導物質化学研究所, 教授 (10372749)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-06-28 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 電解合成 / アミノ酸 / TiO2 / アルファ-ケト酸 / アルファ-アミノ酸

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We prepared a composite inorganic nanocatalyst and constructed an electrochemical reaction system for synthesizing amino acids using electric energy derived from renewable energy. As a titanium electrode coated with titanium oxide, a titanium mesh (TiO2-Ti) was fabricated by directly growing anatase-type titanium oxide on the surface by hydrothermal treatment. Under the optimized reaction conditions, alanine was electrochemically synthesized with a Faradaic efficiency of 99%. Furthermore, electrosynthesis of other amino acids was performed. Amino acid electrosynthesis using a TiO2-Ti electrode can also be applied to the synthesis of amino acids having side chains with various functional groups other than alanine. Glycine, aspartic acid , glutamic acid , leucine (Leu), and phenylalanine were produced by reacting alpha-keto acids and NHOH as starting materials under the same conditions as in alanine synthesis. , valine, tyrosine, and isoleucine were electrochemically synthesized.

Free Research Field

固体物性化学、ナノ化学、触媒化学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

水を水素源とし、電気をエネルギー源とするアミノ酸生成反応は、より原始の地球環境に近い状態起こると考えられ、生命誕生に関わるアミノ酸の生成プロセスとして地球科学においても注目される。また、電気化学的アミノ酸合成は、再生可能電力を用いた様々な新規化学合成プロセスが開発される中で、特に、高付加価値の化学物質を作製するための重要な技術になると考えれられる。