Orlando Acevedo, assistant professor in chemistry and biochemistry, has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation, or NSF. Acevedo received the three-year, $275,061 grant, for his proposal “Development of an Ionic Liquid Force Field for Quantum Mechanical/Molecular Mechanics Simulations.”

“What I feel earned this grant is the vast potential of ionic liquids, a liquid salt at room temperature, to the chemical industry,” Acevedo said. “These solvents have the ability to enhance rates for important chemical reactions, but often are as toxic as conventional solvents. Our proposed contribution is to design new ionic liquids that are also easily biodegradable, recyclable and environmentally friendly.”

Acevedo runs a computational lab that focuses on the application and development of new computational tools that target organic and enzymatic catalyst design, alternative environmentally friendly solvent design and drug discovery.

“We have developed computer simulations that have accurately predicted the properties of new solvents composed of solely food grade products— for example, human supplements like choline mixed with artificial sweeteners,” Acevedo said.

The new ionic liquid solvents are significantly less toxic and often provide enhanced reactions in properties such as increased reaction speeds and higher product selectivity.

Acevedo said the grant will fund the design of new alternative solvents to use when running chemical reactions.

“I’m honored that the NSF has chosen to fund our work and I think it’s a testament to the hard work that my graduate students have been putting into their research efforts,” Acevedo said.