Project description DEENESFRITPL Sustainable catalyst research revolution Sustainability is the future. Funded by the European Research Council, the SINCAT project aims to revolutionise catalyst research to power a future where clean energy is derived from sunlight and hydrogen fuel cells, and CO2 emissions are transformed into valuable resources. By overcoming the limitations of current studies, the project seeks to develop highly efficient catalyst materials critical for a sustainable society. To achieve this, researchers will create a unique nanofluidic reactor device, enabling the examination of individual catalyst nanoparticles and their reactions. Integration of plasmonic optical probes will provide real time insights into catalyst particle dynamics during reactions. SINCAT will investigate the role of catalyst oxidation state in Fischer-Tropsch catalysis and explore plasmon-induced hot electron-mediated reaction pathways for catalytic CO2 reduction. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Imagine a sustainable society where clean energy is produced from sunlight, and water is converted into hydrogen to fuel a fuel cell, which produces electric energy to power the electric motor in a car. At the same time, CO2 emissions are captured and converted to hydrocarbons that are again used as fuel or as resource for fine chemical synthesis. At the heart of this vision is heterogeneous catalysis. Hence, for it to become reality, tailored highly efficient catalyst materials are of paramount importance. The goal of this research program is therefore to establish a new experimental paradigm, which allows the detailed scrutiny of individual catalyst nanoparticles and their reaction products under application conditions.The catalytic performance of nanoparticles is directly controlled by their size, shape and chemical composition. Current studies are, however, conducted on ensembles of nanoparticles. Therefore, such studies are plagued by averaging effects, which deny access to the key details related to how size, shape and composition control catalyst performance. To eliminate this problem, we will nanofabricate a unique nanofluidic reactor device that will enable us to scrutinize catalytic processes and products at the individual catalyst nanoparticle level. In a second step, we will integrate plasmonic optical probes with the nanoreactor to be able to simultaneously monitor the dynamics of the catalyst particle state during reaction.Finally, we will apply the nanoreactor to investigate the role of the catalyst oxidation state in Fischer-Tropsch catalysis. In parallel, we will explore novel plasmon-induced hot electron-mediated reaction pathways for catalytic CO2 reduction, as part of a carbon-neutral energy cycle. We anticipate unprecedented insight into the role of catalyst particle state, size and shape in these processes. This will facilitate the development of more efficient catalyst materials in the quest for an energy-efficient and sustainable future. Fields of science natural scienceschemical scienceselectrochemistryelectrolysisnatural sciencesphysical sciencesopticsmicroscopyelectron microscopynatural scienceschemical sciencescatalysisengineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialsnatural scienceschemical sciencesanalytical chemistrymass spectrometry Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-StG-2015 - ERC Starting Grant Call for proposal ERC-2015-STG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-STG - Starting Grant Host institution CHALMERS TEKNISKA HOGSKOLA AB Net EU contribution € 1 500 000,00 Address - 412 96 GOTEBORG Sweden See on map Region Södra Sverige Västsverige Västra Götalands län Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 500 000,00 Beneficiaries (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all CHALMERS TEKNISKA HOGSKOLA AB Sweden Net EU contribution € 1 500 000,00 Address - 412 96 GOTEBORG See on map Region Södra Sverige Västsverige Västra Götalands län Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 1 500 000,00
