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Dr. habil. Esteban Mejía
Leibniz Institute for Catalysis
Albert-Einstein-Str. 29a
18059 Rostock
Email: Esteban.Mejia@catalysis. de
Phone: +49 381 1281-362
Esteban Mejía studied chemistry at National University of Colombia in Bogota, where he also obtained his master’s degree with focus in polymer chemistry. In 2008 he moved to Switzerland to pursue his PhD in homogeneous catalysis at the ETH Zurich under the supervision of Antonio Togni. In 2012 he joined the group of Matthias Beller at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) in Rostock (Germany) as a postdoc. Later on, he joined the group of Udo Kragl as senior scientist. In 2014 he started his independent career at LIKAT where he finished his Habilitation in 2020. He is currently leader of the group of Polymer Chemistry and Catalysis.
Research Activities
Guided by Green Chemistry’s principles, the application of catalytic technologies towards the development of sustainable processes and products has been the main research motivation at the Mejía’s group. Our main research activities include:
- development of safe polymerization catalysts for consumer products (silicones), together with novel base-metal systems to produce biodegradable polymers and the sustainable synthesis of CO2-epoxide copolymers.
- novel copper-based catalytic systems for C-H derivatization reactions, improving over existing technologies, refraining from the use of noble metals and pre-functionalized substrates. These systems include molecular coordination compounds and artificial metalloenzymes.
- development of metal-free catalyst for aerobic oxidation reactions, including heterogeneous carbocatalysts and persistent radical cations.
- Synthesis and application of heterogeneous catalysts derived from waste rice husk, establish an alternative route for the valorization of agricultural bio-waste, resulting in high added-value products (the catalysts) with potential immediate impact in the chemical industry.
Keywords
- Homogeneous catalysis
- Inorganic (Coordination) and Organometallic chemistry
- Organic, Inorganic and Organometallic synthesis
- Polymer synthesis
- Biomass valorization
- Silicon chemistry
Motivation
"It provides a unique environment to learn and profit from the partners expertise in the different sub-fields of catalysis, opening our narrow sight, allowing us to look at our synthetic challenges from a different angle, under a different light, and getting things done!"
© Photos Mejía