M. Sc. Hannes Wegener
Focus of work
- Methoxycarbonylation
- Oxidation
- Crystallization
- Flow Chemistry
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Curriculum Vitae
Hannes Wegener studied chemistry at the TU Dortmund University and obtained his bachelor's degree in the field of industrial chemistry under Prof. Dr. Vogt. Afterwards, he pursued his Master's degree in Chemistry also at TU Dortmund University. In September 2019, he completed an ERASMUS+ scholarship abroad at the Instituto Superior Técnico (IST) in Lisbon. During his semester abroad, he focused mainly on the topics of industrial chemistry and the valorization of renewable raw materials. In 2022 he finished his master thesis with the topic: "Optimization of a homogeneous, ruthenium-based catalyst system for the selective hydrogenation of aldoximes" again under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Vogt.
Since May 2022, he has been working as a research associate in the Laboratory of Industrial Chemistry.
Research Topic
In terms of sustainability, selective conversion of renewable ressources, such as oleochemicals, is chemically feasible through the application of catalysts. Especially homogeneous catalysts are known to be highly selective at relatively mild reaction conditions. However, catalyst recycling is often challenging but of need to meet the requirements towards sustainability and be able to compete on industrial scale.
An approach for separation of products from the catalyst is crystallisation. The methoxycarbonylation towards linear diesters serves as a model reaction, since the product can be crystallised and filtered off from the catalyst solution. Effects on catalyst activity are currently under investigation.
Publications & Conferences
- Hares, K., Wegener, H. W., Roth, T. F. H., Reichert, R., Vogt, D., Seidensticker, T., (2024) "Primary amines from alkenes and carbonyl compounds: highly selective hydrogenation of oximes using a homogeneous Ru-catalyst" Catal. Sci. Technol., Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/D4CY00368C.
- Roth, T. F. H., Kühl, A., Spiekermann, M. L., Wegener, H. W., Seidensticker,T. (2024) "Biodiesel as a Sustainable Platform Chemical Enabled by Selective Partial Hydrogenation: Compounds Outplace Combustion?!",ChemSusChem, e202400036 DOI: 10.1002/cssc.202400036.
- Seifert, A. I., Wegener, H. W., Brühl, K., Seidensticker, T., Wohlgemuth, K., (2023) "Polymer-Grade Bio-Monomers from Oleochemicals by Combining Homogeneous Catalysis and Selective Product Crystallization in an Integrated Process" Processes, 11(10), 2861; DOI: 10.3390/pr11102861