Fiscal Year 2011 Small Molecule Activation | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The Fiscal Year 2011 Small Molecule Activation opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number BAA AFOSR 2011 02) was a discretionary, grant-based funding competition run by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) under the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). Its purpose was to strengthen and sustain university research and education in the chemistry of small molecule activation and closely related technologies, with the longer-term goal of transitioning foundational discoveries into capabilities that matter to U.S. Air Force needs. AFOSR made clear that it was seeking unclassified, fundamental research proposals and that submissions should not include proprietary information. Multiple awards were anticipated, but AFOSR reserved the right to fund all, some, or none of the proposals, and it did not reimburse proposal preparation costs. Proposals and supporting materials would not be returned, and the agency planned to manage the announcement electronically rather than distributing paper copies.

Scientifically, the call was motivated by a gap between what nature accomplishes with simple feedstocks and what synthetic chemistry can reliably do with the same basic building blocks. Natural systems routinely convert very stable small molecules into complex materials through highly selective processes, while many industrial approaches still rely on energy-intensive conditions. A central example highlighted in the announcement was dinitrogen (N2) conversion to ammonia via the Haber-Bosch process, which requires high temperatures, high pressures, and heterogeneous catalysis. Despite the historical importance of Haber-Bosch, AFOSR emphasized that selective, mild-condition activation of N2 remains underdeveloped, even though biomimetic and metal-centered mechanistic insights have started to suggest plausible pathways toward room-temperature, low-pressure catalytic approaches. The announcement also pointed to the growing importance of activating other small molecules such as H2, CO, and CO2, including the idea of using CO2 as a chemical feedstock for greener processes and potentially as a carbon source for liquid fuels.

The technical focus of the program was on building mechanistic understanding of catalytic processes that can activate small inorganic compounds and enable synthetically useful reactions among those small molecules and with carbon sources. The scope explicitly covered elements and simple compounds relevant to Air Force interests, including nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, sulfur, silicon, boron, aluminum, phosphorus, and carbon, along with their oxides and hydrides. While the solicitation did not limit investigators to a single catalytic paradigm, it strongly preferred catalytic homogeneous processes that generate products under mild reaction conditions, meaning comparatively low temperatures and pressures. The intent was not incremental optimization of known reactions, but frontier-level exploratory work that pushes fundamental boundaries and could transform how small molecules are used as starting materials for synthesis.

From an application standpoint, AFOSR framed the expected relevance in terms of Air Force priorities: chemistry that enables functional compounds, liquid and solid fuels, propellants, and high-energy-density compounds received special emphasis. At the same time, the opportunity stayed rooted in basic research rather than near-term development, aiming to create new synthetic methodologies and catalytic concepts that could eventually support materials and energy-related technologies derived from cheap, abundant, and potentially renewable feedstocks. The announcement also noted that research in areas like nitrogen and sulfur oxides has historically been driven by pollution, exhaust chemistry, and performance questions, whereas targeted exploration of how these kinds of small molecule building blocks can be selectively activated for constructive synthesis has been fragmented; this program was meant to help fill that gap.

In practical grant terms, the funding instrument type was a grant under the Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program (CFDA 12.800). Eligible applicants were U.S. public/state-controlled institutions of higher education and private institutions of higher education, with no cost sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was posted on December 1, 2010, with an original and current closing date of January 17, 2011, and an archive date of February 16, 2011. Award sizes were substantial for basic research, with a stated floor of $300,000 and a ceiling of $900,000, and AFOSR expected to make more than one award. The announcement encouraged prospective applicants to contact a program manager before submitting, which is often important in AFOSR programs to ensure fit to the research objectives and to align expectations about scope, novelty, and relevance.

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: Air Force Office of Scientific Research

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development

Next opportunity: National Institute on Aging Revision Requests for Active Cooperative Agreements (U01)

Previous opportunity: FY 2011 Request for Proposals from Indian Tribes and Intertribal Consortia for Nonpoint Source Management Grants Under Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 319

USGrants.org Applicant Portal:

Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.

Apply for BAA AFOSR 2011 02

 

[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?

Applicants also applied for:

Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (BAA AFOSR 2011 02) also looked into and applied for these:

 

Grant application guides and resources

It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!

Apply for Grants

 

 

Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers

Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.

If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.

Subscribe to Leads

 

Request more information:

Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "BAA AFOSR 2011 02", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:

Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.