M. Sc. Dominik Pietschmann
Focus of work
- Selective Hydrogenation
- Bio-based Feedstock
- Ligand Synthesis / -Design
- Reaction Optimization
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Curriculum Vitae
Dominik Pietschmann started studying chemistry at TU Dortmund University at the department of chemistry and chemical biology in October 2017 and finished his bachelor’s degree with the kinetic investigation of the homogeneous ruthenium-catalyzed amination of alcohols in 2021. He completed his master degree with the thesis “Intensification of Homogeneously Catalyzed Alcohol Amination with Ammonia – Combination of Chemistry and Reaction Engineering” at the chair of Industrial Chemistry (TC) under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Vogt. in June 2023. From July 2023 to December 2023, he worked as student intern at Covestro Leverkusen in the division Business Entify Coatings & Adhesives – R&D Global Platform Crosslinkers. Since January 2024, he has been working as a research associate in the Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry.
Research Topic
The selective hydrogenation of fatty acid methyl esters (1) to unsaturated fatty alcohols (3) represents a key transformation in the chemical industry, as the resulting products serve as essential raw materials for environmentally friendly surfactants, cosmetics, and bio-based polymers. Achieving this transformation, however, requires carefully designed catalyst systems systems that enable the hydrogenation of the C=O bond while preserving the C=C double bonds without hydrogenation, migration, or isomerization. Only a few homogeneous catalysts, mainly based on manganese or ruthenium, are known for the selective hydrogenation of methyl oleate to oleyl alcohol, and many require laborious synthesis. Here, we aimed to develop a homogeneous catalytic approach using commercially available catalysts to produce oleyl alcohol with purities above 90% from HOSOME.
Publications
Heider, C., Pietschmann, D., Vogt, D., Seidensticker, T. (2022). "Selective Synthesis of Primary Amines by Kinetic-based Optimization of the Ruthenium-Xantphos Catalyzed Amination of Alcohols with Ammonia", ChemCatChem e202200788, DOI: 10.1002/cctc.202200788
- February 2025, Heidelberg, Germany: 17th CaRLa-Winterschool 2025, Poster: “Selective Hydrogenation of Renewable Raw Materials Using Commercial Catalyst Systems”.
- October 2025, Essen, Germany: DGMK - Division Petrochemistry and Conversion of Carbon Carriers 2025, Poster: “Selective Hydrogenation of Renewable Raw Materials Using Commercial Catalyst Systems”.
- June 2026, Dortmund, Germay: abiosus e. V., Poster: “Selective Hydrogenation of Fatty Acid Methyl Esters to Alcohols: Impact of Natural Impurities on Catalyst Activity”.