On the 12th of July 2012, The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) All Ireland Group organised the second in a series of events for "Green Chemistry in Ireland" at The Helix, Dublin City University.

The event, entitled "Green Chemistry in Ireland II: Sustainable Catalysis and Emerging Environmental Technologies" brought together a number of academic speakers, interested parties and postgraduate students, working with green chemistry related projects, and created a forum by which students and academic speakers could exchange ideas and perspectives on aspects of their work. Postgraduate education, including an opportunity to improve communication skills and listen to Prof. Sir Kroto's research and view on science education, was the main goal of the day.

Dr. Nick Gathergood, Chair of the Organising Committee, welcomed delegates from across Europe and introduced Professor Sir Harold Kroto and his talk "Carbon in Nano and Outer Space". Harold Kroto shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1996, with Richard Smalley and Robert Curl, for discovering C60, also known as buckminsterfullerene. C60 was discovered when the team attempted to simulate atmospheric conditions found in cool red giant carbon stars. They hoped to prove that various carbon chain compounds could exist in the space between stars. They succeeded and discovered the existence of a whole new form of carbon. The discovery of C60 (which resembles a soccer ball) and its unique properties, prompted new investigations and research into fullerenes as well as catalysing the advancement and birth of nanoscience and materials engineering, making the team's findings have a huge impact on materials science as we know it today.

Prof. Kroto gave a heart-warming and hugely entertaining reflection on his experiences and the events leading up to the discovery of C60, as well as his ongoing academic activities to this day. He also was keen to highlight many of his views on the challenges facing humanity in areas such as education (scientific as well as in general), sustainability and the environment, as well as the challenges that science itself as a field faces in the modern world. His work in relation to the Vega Science Trust and GEOSET (Global Educational Outreach for Science, Engineering and Technology) served as a very inspirational focal point in his talk, where he stressed the importance of training young researchers in the communication skills which enable chemistry to be accessible and relevant to all.

Other speakers included Dr.Andrew C Marr, QUB, who discussed his ongoing research on the design and implementation of chemo-catalytic and bio-catalytic systems in the synthesis of "value-added" chemicals from biomass materials, emphasising the growing need for finding alternative sources of raw materials for industry that do not rely on fossil fuels. Dr. Robert Raja gave a detailed and highly interesting lecture on the theory, design and utilisation of "single site" heterogenous catalysts and linking them to the production of important raw materials in industry. Dr. Raja discussed the solid-state chemical principles of zeolite materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and the advantages that such porous solids offer in catalysis.

Several green chemistry projects from postgraduate students across Ireland were also showcased throughout the course of the day. The projects, based on research from within DCU, TDC, NUIM and UCD, covered a broad range of topics including the environmental evaluation and application of novel ionic liquids as solvents, catalysts in organic synthesis and as gas absorption/separation media, photocatalytic generation of hydrogen, nano-functionalised coatings in bio-fouling prevention, biological production of novel feedstock materials in pharmaceuticals as well as pharmaceutical analysis within surface waters.

EPA Ireland sponsored prizes for best poster and student talk. Congratulations to Wayne Fogarty (NUIM) for winning best student talk and Celcilia Fenech (DCU) as runner-up. Well done also to Nadège Ferlin (Univ. de Reims, France), Mukund Ghavre (DCU) and Zahra Gholamvand (DCU) for best posters.