Roy Periana

Roy Periana, Ph.D.

Professor

Department: SR-CHEM-PERIANA LAB
Business Phone: (561) 228-2457
Business Email: rperiana@ufl.edu

About Roy Periana

B. S. University of Michigan, 1979; Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley, 1985, Ph.D. advisor: Robert G. Bergman; Previously worked at Dow Chemical company, Monsanto Company in Missouri, Catalytica, Catalytica Advanced Technologies, SRI International and an Associate Professor at the University of Southern California’s Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute. Currently he is a Professor of chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute and Director of the Scripps Energy Laboratories.

Related Links:
Additional Positions:
Professor of Chemistry
2007 – 2022 · Scripps Research Institute, Florida
Director, Scripps Energy and Materials Center (SEMC)
2007 – 2022 · Scripps Research Institute, Florida
Faculty Associate
2003 – 2007 · Power Environmental & Energy Research Center, California Institute of Technology
Director
2000 – 2007 · USC-Caltech-Chevron Consortium on New Catalysis Technology
Professor of Chemistry, Department of Chemistry
2000 – 2007 · Loker Hydrocarbon Research Institute, University of Southern California
Co-Founder and Vice President of Research
1994 – 2000 · Catalytica Advanced Technologies
Senior Research Fellow and Project Leader
1988 – 1994 · Catalytica, Inc.
Research Specialist
1985 – 1988 · Monsanto Company
Research Chemist
1979 – 1981 · The Dow Chemical Company

Accomplishments

Co-Founder and Member of Board of Directors
2015-2022 · Hyconix, Inc.
Founder and Member of Board of Directors
2005-2007 · Qateomix, Inc.
Fellowship
1999 · Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS)

Research Profile

Design and Study of Molecular Catalysts for Small Molecule Conversion

CH4 (and other light alkanes in Natural Gas), N2, O2, H2O and CO2 are among the most abundant raw materials on Earth. Chemical reactions of these small molecules generate most of the world’s energy, emissions and materials. However, in spite of a century of research, current technologies still operate at higher costs, generate substantially more emissions and lead to greater dependence on petroleum than required. At the foundation of these inefficiencies is the high strength of the bonds in all of the small molecules. In spite of intensive effort over more than 50 years, failure to develop chemistry to controllably make and break these bonds has led to the unfortunate assignment of these small molecule challenges as “Holy Grails” in chemistry. The focus of our research is to overcome these challenges through the design of next generation catalysts for the direct, selective, conversion of these molecules. One particular emphasis continues to be the design of systems that will enable the direct conversion of alkanes to fuels and chemicals at lower temperatures. This could replace or augment the use of petroleum with cleaner, more abundant Natural Gas as a transition to a cleaner future. Our approach is based on the rational, de novo design of molecular (s-called homogeneous or single-site) catalysts through an iterative process involving conceptual design, computational study, synthesis, characterization and study of reaction chemistry and mechanisms. Our research interests include the design of catalysts for: CH hydroxylation; CH aminations, N2 fixation, O2 activation and CO2 reduction.

Areas of Interest
  • Chemical protein synthesis
  • Inorganic Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Organometallic Chemistry
  • Reaction Mechanisms
  • Synthesis
  • Synthetic organic chemistry

Publications

2020
Homogeneous Methane Functionalization
Direct Natural Gas Conversion to Value-Added Chemicals. 331-376
2020
SN2 and E2 Branching of Main-Group-Metal Alkyl Intermediates in Alkane CH Oxidation: Mechanistic Investigation Using Isotopically Labeled Main-Group-Metal Alkyls
Organometallics. 39(10):1907-1916 [DOI] 10.1021/acs.organomet.0c00120.

Education

Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry
1985 · University of California, Berkeley
Bachelor's of Science in Chemistry
1979 · University of Michigan

Contact Details

Phones:
Business:
(561) 228-2457
Emails:
Business:
rperiana@ufl.edu
Addresses:
Business Mailing:
Location A315
130 SCRIPPS WAY BLDG, 3A1
JUPITER FL 33458
Business Street:
130 SCRIPPS WAY RM A315 BLDG 3A1
JUPITER FL 33458