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Fran and Chris have just returned from visiting the University of the Basque Country at two campuses in Donastia (San Sebastián) and Bilbao.
Many thanks to our hosts! Scroll through the pictures below!
The EHU Chemistry Department in the distance in Donostia 
Periodic Table on the outside of the building in Donostia 
Fran giving a presentation in Donostia 
Fran giving a presentation in Donostia 
UN SDGs in Basque Language 
Chris giving a presentation in Donostia 
Fran and Chris overlooking Donostia 
The Engineering and Science building on the campus in Bilbao 
Periodic Table in Bilbao 
C60 in Bilbao 
Chris ahead of a joint presentation in Bilbao 
Visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site (Vizcaya Bridge) with our hosts
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Thank you to MUN Chemistry Society (MUNCS) and the Chemistry Graduate Society (CGS) for organizing the department’s holiday party at Bridie Molloy’s on George Street.
In case we forget during the busy exam period, Happy Holidays from us to you! Be safe and happy, and very best wishes for a wonderful 2026.
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We realized that with several new graduate students joining the group this semester – it was time for a new photo….this time featuring our local blue whale in the background!
(Emily W is missing, as she was busy off-campus)
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: biomass, chemistry, green chemistry, Green polymers, Memorial University, research, students
There has been lots of exciting news from the Green Cat Chem group over the last few months! Let’s begin by congratulating everyone on successfully publishing multiple manuscripts! 🎉
Publications
- F. M. Kerton, “Applying the principles of green chemistry to achieve a more sustainable polymer life cycle,” Current Opinion in Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 2025, 51, 100996. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cogsc.2024.100996)
- K. V. M. Hanrahan, C. M. Meyers, C. W. Vos, J.-B. Lin and C. M. Kozak, “Kinetic studies of zirconium-catalyzed ring-opening copolymerization of epoxide and cyclic anhydride,” Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 2025, e-First. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjc-2024-0201)
- S. Boudreau, S. Hrapovic, E. McIsaac, E. Lam, F. Berrué and F. M. Kerton, “Transforming waste fish bones into nanoparticles with ultrasound and aqueous organic acids,” RSC Sustainability, 2025, 3, 2325-2332. (DOI: 10.1039/D5SU00164A)
- O. N. Egbe, B. H. P. Morrissey, F. M. Kerton and T. J. Stockmann, “Anodic expulsion of Cu nanoparticles from a polycrystalline Cu substrate: a novel corrosion and single entity study approach,” Nanoscale, 2025, 17, 10609-10619. (DOI: 10.1039/D4NR04863F)
- J. N. Murphy, M. A. Morgan, S. Christian-Robinson, M. M. Fitzgerald and F. M. Kerton, “Optimized process to produce calcium acetate from waste blue mussel shells and its use as a de-icer,” Canadian Journal of Chemistry, 2025, e-First. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjc-2024-0279)
- S. Christian-Robinson, F. Kong, E. B. Easton and F. M. Kerton, “Modification of calcium carbonate from blue mussel shells with copper oxide nanoparticles,” RSC Sustainability, 2025, 3, 3009-3018. (DOI: 10.1039/D5SU00188A)
- M. D. Wheeler and F. M. Kerton, “Borane-catalysed cyclodepolymerization of CO2-derived polycarbonates”, Faraday Discussions, 2025, Accepted Manuscript. (DOI: 10.1039/D5FD00050E)
- J. E. Peddle, C. M. Laprise, M. D. Wheeler, M. M. Fitzgerald, F. M. Kerton and C. M. Kozak, “Ocean Biomass-derived Feedstocks for Non-Isocyanate Polyurethane Synthesis,” Faraday Discussions, 2025, Accepted Manuscript. (DOI: 10.1039/D5FD00059A)
- M. J. J. Laprade, K. N. Robertson, J. A. C. Clyburne and C. M. Kozak, “A new class of ligand derived from the reactions of bis(dialkylphosphino)amines and 9-diazofluorene: preparation, structure and reactivity,” Dalton Transactions, 2025, 54, 11382-11397. (DOI: 10.1039/D4DT03402C)
Conferences & Summer Schools
Many students from Green Cat Chem had the privilege to present at several conferences and attend summer schools during the past few months. Throughout May and June, Prof. Kerton and Prof. Kozak attended multiple conferences, including the Commonwealth Chemistry Congress in South Africa, the International Conference on Sustainable Chemistry for Net Zero in Scotland, the RSC Sustainability Symposium in England, and the Gordon Research Conference on Biobased Chemicals and Materials in Maine.
At the CSC Conference this year in Ottawa, Prof. Kerton and Prof. Kozak had the opportunity to present their research as well as many of their students, including Sarah Boudreau, Cyler Vos, Amy Mitchell, Megan Graham, Meghan McKeeman, Mikhailey Wheeler, Olivia Wyper, Megan Fitzgerald, and Emily Wiseman.
Prof. Kerton, Prof. Kozak, Sarah, Mikhailey, and Olivia presented at the ACS Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference in Pittsburgh, PA. Before the conference officially started, Olivia took part of a service project in North Pittsburgh neighbourhoods and helped organized Beyond Benign’s Green Chemistry Committment summit with Mikhailey and other international students. At this summit, Prof. Kerton was invited to give a short presentation. At the awards banquet on the first evening, Sarah accepted the Joseph Breen Memorial Fellowship from the ACS GCI.
Prof. Kerton, the chair of the Committee on Chemical Research Applied to World Needs (CHEMRAWN), represented Canada at IUPAC2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Not only did she present at the CHEMRAWN Meeting and represented Canada at the IUPAC Council Meeting, but she was also at the World Chemistry Leadership Meeting and she was a keynote speaker in the symposium “Towards a Sustainable Future: Engaging Society for a Systemic Change”. Prof. Kerton will be the chair of IUPAC2027 in Montreal, QC which will be held in conjunction with CSC 2027. We look forward to it!
Sarah travelled to Burlington, VT for the ACS GCI Green & Sustainable Chemistry Summer School from July 26 to August 1, 2025. During this year’s summer school, multiple green chemistry topics were explored including metrics, green solvents, earth-abundant catalysis, renewable feedstocks, circularity, molecular design, and designing safer chemicals for healthy communities. She presented two research posters and a group presentation on 6PPD.
Mikhailey, Emily, Meghan, and Oforbuike Egbe attended the Centre for Innovation and Research on Carbon Utilization in Industrial Technologies (CIRCUIT) Summer School in Quebec City, QC where they presented research posters and learned about electrochemical CO2 systems, applications of AI models, and current achievements in CO2 electrolyzers.
We now all look forward to a productive start to the Fall semester next month, and hope everyone gets the opportunity to enjoy the last few weeks of Summer! 😎
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Check it out everyone, Megan’s new paper “Entirely biomass-derived hydrogel composites for possible applications in drug delivery” is available in Thieme’s new journal Sustainability & Circularity NOW (https://www.thieme-connect.com/products/ejournals/abstract/10.1055/a-2487-4285).
In this article, hydrogel materials were created by incorporating soft-calcite originating from blue mussel shells into chitosan-alginate beads. The beads had a core containing chitosan and soft calcite (0 – 2.5 wt.%) while the outer layer was made of alginate. The samples were characterized and observed with multiple techniques including SEM, FT-IR, and TGA.
During encapsulation studies, they used three solutions to determine swelling within biological solutions: 0.1 M HCl (surrogate gastric fluid), 0.1 M potassium phosphate buffer (surrogate intestinal fluid), and deionized water. Methylene blue was used as a model drug during encapsulation efficiency and release studies. While beads containing soft calcite swelled less in HCl compared to control experiments, the swelling didn’t change when immersed in potassium phosphate buffer. Despite the overall reduced encapsulation efficiency of hydrogels made with soft calcite, it was observed that methylene blue was released in a significantly more controlled manner.
This study proves that it’s possible to prepare hydrogels that are entirely biomass-based and have the potential to be used in drug delivery applications. Replacing petroleum-based materials with wasted biomass is a big step towards ultimately achieving a circular economy.
Congratulations again Megan! ☺️
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The holidays are coming up and people are excited to be festive after a dreary & rainy November! To start off December, Megan Fitzgerald organized a cookie exchange on Monday where we enjoyed some cookies for breakfast and we were able to take lots home with us. Everyone brought a batch of cookies which people could choose from, almost like a cookie potluck!
The next day, Fran and Chris invited us all to the Pantry for a holiday lunch! The paninis were really good and we look forward to visiting the Pantry again, a hidden gem that’s just a short walk behind the Core Science Facility.
I think most of us are looking forward to a break after a busy Fall semester. Some students are leaving within the next few weeks to head back home to spend time with their families during the holidays. The University is officially closed from Tuesday, December 24th through to Thursday, January 2nd.
Happy Holidays everyone! I hope everyone gets the chance to relax and celebrate!
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The month of September marks the beginning of a new semester at MUN, which means new graduate students have joined the group! We would like to welcome the following students to the lab:
Kate Hanrahan is a 1st year MSc student supervised by Prof. Kozak and she completed her BSc (Hons) at MUN! We would like to congratulate her for winning joint first-prize in the 2024 CIC Macromolecular Science and Engineering Division Undergraduate Thesis Competition! 💖🏆
Emily Wiseman is a 1st year MSc student supervised by Prof. Kerton & Prof. Mike Katz and she completed her BSc (Hons) at MUN! 🐚💙
Megan Graham is a 1st year MSc student supervised by Prof. Kerton and she completed her BSc (Hons) at University of Western Ontario!
Meghan McKeeman is a 1st year MSc student supervised by Prof. Kerton and she completed her BSc (Hons) at Queen’s University!
At the end of the month on September 25th, Sachel & Sarah co-organized this year’s Global Conversation on Sustainability! Multiple members of the lab presented their research as a 5 min talk, including Cyler, Olivia, Megan F., Megan G., Emily, and Kate. We really appreciate their participation in this year’s event 💚 Check out the post before this for some more pictures regarding the event!
With a large research group and lots going on in the lab, stay tuned for lots of upcoming updates this semester! 👩🔬🔬📝
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Thank you to the organizers and presenters at yesterday’s event celebrating the anniversary of the UN SDGs being established, and describing how chemistry plays an important role in achieving many of them
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As the Fall semester approaches rapidly, it is time to reflect on a busy summer. Thank you to Shelby and Rudrakshi for working with us as Mitacs Globalink Interns – we hope you enjoyed your time in Newfoundland. Welcome to Suphatta, a visiting graduate student from Khon Kaen University, Thailand.
We look forward to Cyler returning from a JSPS-Mitacs funded summer visit to Kyoto University, Japan.
Matthew attended the Crystallography Workshop organized by the CNC-IUCr and the CSC in Winnipeg. Olivia attended the ACS GCI Green and Sustainable Chemistry Summer School in Vermont. Sarah, Mikhailey, Dr. Kerton and Dr. Kozak attended a number of conferences around the world including the ACS GCE in Atlanta.
Now back to paper and proposal writing, lab work and teaching 😀
Green Chemistry @ MUN 