Daniel Langerreiter received Magnus Ehrnrooth award for the best doctoral dissertation in chemistry
The Grand Prize of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters – Professor E.J. Nyström Prize (50,000 €), was awarded to Professor Leif B. Andersson of Uppsala University for his outstanding contribution to the genome biology of domestic animals and natural animal populations.
Magnus Ehrnrooth prize for the best doctoral dissertations in chemistry accepted at a Finnish university last year Doctor of Science (Technology) Daniel Langerreiter, Aalto University.
Daniel Langereiter defended his PhD thesis "Synthesis of cellulose based self-sterilizing materials via solid-state reactions" at Aalto University in October 2024. His supervisor was Professor Mauri
Kostiainen.
The work involved the preparation of new photosensitive cellulose derivatives and the development of new synthesis methods for both the derivatisation of cellulose crystals and the preparation of photoactive compounds.
The doctoral thesis is based on three high-quality publications.
The first dealt with the antimicrobial activity of photoactive compounds in cellulose nanofiber matrices. The active compounds were either mixed into the matrix or covalently bound to it.
In the second work, cellulose nanocrystals were derivatized using
chemomechanical methods, which all but obviated the need for solvents. The chemical reactions on crystal surfaces occurred remarkably quickly.
In the third study, the phthalocyanine derivative used in the first study was re-examined. As the previous synthesis of the compound was complex with poor yields, Langereiter's work helped develop an efficient solid-state synthesis. In this synthesis, the number of solvents could be reduced by a factor of 100.
Langereiter's work made extensive use of various synthesis and structural analysis methodologies, resulting in several synthesis and material innovations. The preliminary examiners of the dissertation and the opponent found it to be of an exceptionally high standard.
The Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering granted the
work the "Award for Excellence"
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