Making materials from plants

In this series of short videos, PhD researchers from the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Chemistry at the University of Nottingham explain their research and the key role it is playing in tackling climate change.

In our search for better medicines to improve healthcare in an ageing population, for safer agrochemicals to aid food production for a growing population, and for new materials to match our insatiable desire for new technology, chemistry plays the dominant role. Without chemistry, the scientific advances required to secure our future will simply not be available. 

However, chemistry is often viewed as demanding in its need for energy and natural resources, and its impact on the environment. We have to ensure that our chemistry is safe, efficient and, above all, sustainable – chemistry that is benign by design.