M. Sc. Bernd Rienhoff
Focus of work
- Homogeneously catalyzed amination reactions
- Isolation / purification of primary amines
- Crystallization
- Continuous reaction performance
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Curriculum Vitae
Bernd Rienhoff started studying chemistry at TU Dortmund at the department of chemistry and chemical biology in Oct. 2017 and finished his bachelor thesis with the topic “Synthesis of xanthene-based pyrrole-functionalised ligands and investigation of their performance in hydroaminomethylation” in 2020.
He continued with his master studies at TU Dortmund and received the “Deutschlandstipendium” scholarship first from RAG-Stiftung and then from BASF SE between Feb. 2021 and Mar. 2022.In 2022 he finished his master’s degree after three semesters with the thesis “Hydrocyanation by Enhanced Nickel-Lewis-Acid-Cooperativity Using BiPhePhos and Investigation of the Influence of Promoters” at the chair of Industrial Chemistry (TC).
He joined the chair of Industrial Chemistry as a research associate in May 2022.
Research Topic
Primary amines are an important class of chemical substances and are utilized in pharmaceuticals, cleaning agents and agrochemicals. The major challenge in their production is the formation of different amine species that have to be separated from each other in complex processes. The use of homogeneous catalysts offers a selective alternative, but here the challenge is shifted to the separation of the product from the usually expensive catalyst. Ideally, the catalyst should be reused/recycled and from an economic and ecological point of view, this represents an obstacle to widespread use that was not satisfactory addressed yet. The aim of this work is to develop an efficient purification and separation strategy for primary amines using CO2 and to transfer the homogeneously catalyzed reaction process from batch to continuous operation.
Publications
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B. Rienhoff, D. Mede, M. Schöler, D. Vogt, T. Seidensticker, (2025) “Selective and Waste-Free Isolation of High Purity Primary Amines from Amine and Reaction Mixtures by Selective Ammonium Carbamate Crystallization” Chem. Eur. J. 2025, e202500059. DOI: 10.1002/chem.202500059
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Köhler, T., Rienhoff, B., Vogt, D., (2024) "Nickel(BiPhePhos)-Catalyzed Hydrocyanation of Styrene—Highly Increased Catalytic Activity by Optimized Operational Procedures" Catalysts, 14(3), 210, DOI: 10.3390/catal14030210.
- September 2024, Mühlheim (Ruhr), Germany: Jahrestagung der FG Nachhaltige Chemie 2024, Poster: “CO2-Induced Separation of Primary Amines from Amine-Mixtures and Homogeneous Catalyst-Containing Reaction Mixtures: Selective Ammonium-Carbamate Crystallization”
- July 2024, Trieste, Italy: XXIII International Symposium on Homogeneous Catalysis (ISHC) 2024, Poster: “Combination of Switchable Solvents and Catalysts for High Reactivity and Efficient Product / Catalyst Separation”
- March 2024, Weimar, Germany: 57. Jahrestreffen Deutscher Katalytiker, Poster: “CO2 Enhanced Thermomorphic Multiphase System (TMS) for Efficient Catalyst Separation in the Homogeneously Catalyzed Telomerization of Bio-Based β-Myrcene”
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