Inside her lab in Ross Hall, Bonnie Buss, Ph.D., and her students are helping to write a new set of rules for a more sustainable form of chemistry鈥嗏�斺�唄arnessed by the simple power of visible light. 

There鈥檚 no doubt that traditional chemistry, particularly the large-scale chemistry that spurred the Industrial Revolution and created new technologies for plastics, batteries, clothing, pharmaceuticals and fertilizers, has been vital to a host of advancements and products that are essential to daily life.  

But that type of chemistry also consumes a lot of energy. It pollutes air, water and soil, emits greenhouse gases and can expose workers to harmful chemicals. 

Buss, an assistant professor in 网曝吃瓜鈥檚 Chemistry and Biochemistry department, is among a group of chemists helping to build fundamental research in the relatively new field of photoredox catalysis. It鈥檚 a method of chemistry that uses energy from light 鈥� oftentimes ordinary, visible light like blue LED, blacklight or even sunlight鈥嗏�斺�唗o make those same chemical reactions. 

It’s like photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert light energy into chemical energy. And the result is the ability to produce chemicals faster, in fewer steps, at cooler temperatures and without producing waste鈥嗏�斺�哸ll things that could lead to significant economic and environmental benefits across multiple industries. 

Take, for instance, pharmaceuticals. According to Buss, the industry has one of the more well-defined applications of the technology. 

鈥淧harmaceutical drugs are complicated. A specific drug can take a certain number of synthetic steps to make, and every step adds to the cost of producing it,鈥� said Buss. 鈥淪o, the possibility of lowering costs, just by having more efficient reactions鈥嗏�斺�唗hat’s huge.鈥� 

Cutting Edge Collaboration 

Buss describes herself as a curious person with an interest in sustainability that extends beyond the field of chemistry. Finding research aligned to both her professional and personal passions was no accident.  

鈥淪omething that has always been important to me is this idea of doing chemistry that I can feel good about鈥嗏�斺�唗hings that shape the world in a way I鈥檓 passionate about,鈥� 

The research Buss is referring to is her work at the Center for Sustainable PhotoRedox Catalysis, aka SuPRCat. Based out of Colorado State University, SuPRCat is a Center for Chemical Innovation funded by the National Science Foundation鈥嗏�斺�哸 collection of leading minds in the field, 鈥渆xploring how to design chemical manufacturing processes harnessing light energy and utilizing readily-available materials as catalysts.鈥�   

With expertise in photocatalysts and polymers, Buss is one of 13 multidisciplinary researchers from seven different universities on the team. Her role allows her and her students to contribute to this essential field of research while collaborating with experts in complementary fields, like computational, spectroscopic and synthetic chemistry.

鈥淥ur students can see this very sophisticated kind of analysis that I don鈥檛 otherwise have the expertise to do. And with all these people working together, instead of being siloed individually, we can accomplish so much more,鈥� said Buss. 

Lighting the Way for Student Scientists 

While Buss and her students aren鈥檛 engaged in the type of research intended to bring about flashy breakthroughs, their work is critical to building the body of knowledge in the field. 

Mary Kate Hall, M.S. 鈥�25, now a doctoral student in 网曝吃瓜鈥檚 Chemical Education program, is one of those students doing the work. She spent two years in the Buss lab completing research for her master鈥檚 thesis, which explored ways to make it easier to recover and reuse photocatalysts, and allowed her to collaborate with members of the SuPRCat. 

鈥淥ne of the coolest parts was getting to use the instrumentation and expertise that I wouldn鈥檛 normally have access to if we were just working in isolation,鈥� said Hall. 鈥淪uPRCat aren鈥檛 the only photochemists out there, but we鈥檙e one of the leading groups kind of pushing the boundaries of this science.鈥� 

Hall said the experience also influenced what she鈥檇 like to bring to her future classroom. 

鈥淭his has changed my perspective on how I want to connect what I previously considered 鈥榬esearch-only chemistry鈥� to the chemistry that’s taught in the classroom. This is the kind of chemistry that students need to know is happening,鈥� said Hall. 

For Macy Killen, a junior in 网曝吃瓜鈥檚 Chemistry-Pre-Health concentration, working in Buss鈥檚 lab wasn鈥檛 something she imagined she could do as an undergrad. She conducted independent research over the summer focused on making photocatalysts that can be recovered.  

鈥淚鈥檓 relatively new to all this, so every day, I鈥檓 learning something new and being pushed outside my comfort zone. I鈥檓 having to critically think about every single thing I do in the lab, finding ways to be conscious of how much solvent or materials we鈥檙e using and not be wasteful. That鈥檚 really important to me,鈥� said Killen. 

Buss also launched a new lab in spring 2025 for students taking Organic Chemistry II that will focus on some of the more modern, cutting-edge concepts related to green chemistry and sustainability, as well as photoredox catalysis and polymers. 

鈥淚t’s a lot of key concepts that we don’t hit very hard in lecture, but that are really important. We want to integrate a little bit more so the broader chemistry community at 网曝吃瓜 can take advantage of it.鈥� 

Catalysts for Sustainable Change

The role of a catalyst is fundamental in chemical manufacturing. They speed up reactions and reduce the energy needed to get from point A to point B, without being consumed in the process.  

While both traditional chemistry and photoredox catalysis rely on catalysts, there are significant differences that make photoredox catalysis safer and more sustainable. 

In traditional chemistry, catalysts often require high heat and pressure to kickstart a reaction. In contrast, photoredox catalysis uses light to activate a reaction, often at room temperature. This makes the process more energy-efficient and easier to control.  

Because light is more selective than heat in terms of activating specific molecules or bonds more precisely, photoredox catalysis can reduce the number of synthetic steps required to produce the reaction. This reduces waste and makes the overall process more efficient. 

While both traditional chemistry and early research in photoredox catalysis relied on metal-based catalysts, often using scarce and expensive metals that are difficult to mine, Buss and her team are focused on metal-free, organic photocatalysts. It鈥檚 a newer direction in the field that offers a more sustainable alternative. These organic catalysts can perform the same work without relying on mined materials, and they typically generate little to no chemical waste.