Turning coal to medicines: Chinese scientists bring a 160-year-old dream to life

Chinese scientists have discovered a way to turn cheap coal into valuable ingredients for medicine. This was once a long and difficult process, but now they have found a surprising short cut.In a study published on March 16 in the journal Nature, Jiao Ning’s team at Peking University solved a chemical puzzle that had confounded scientists for over 160 years. They successfully transformed inexpensive and readily available industrial feedstock – olefins – into high-value alkynes under mild and efficient conditions.This breakthrough not only revolutionises the concepts of molecular synthesis but also opens a gateway for China’s coal-based chemical industry to venture into the production of high-value-added fine chemicals.This exemplifies the strategic thinking that has guided China’s chemical industry in recent years: without needing more oil, China’s chemical industry can improve and create more value through new ideas.To grasp the significance of this achievement, one must first understand two fundamental building blocks of organic chemistry: olefins and alkynes.Olefins are compounds containing a carbon-carbon double bond. This bond, structurally akin to a “bent line”, is relatively reactive. Globally, olefins such as ethylene and propylene are produced on a large scale and at low cost, often by heating oil. In China, they are also made from coal, using a process that turns coal into methanol and then into olefins. This is especially important for China because the country has plenty of coal but very little oil.