Description du projet
Exploiter les photons, les électrons et les nanoparticules pour catalyser la transformation des hydrocarbures
Les hydrocarbures, composés chimiques constitués principalement d’hydrogène et de carbone, sont les principaux composants du pétrole brut, du gaz naturel et du charbon. Leur transformation par oxygénation, en composés contenant de l’oxygène, permet d’obtenir des produits utiles à haute valeur ajoutée et des intermédiaires pour l’industrie de la chimie fine. Cependant, la stimulation de ces réactions par l’activation des liaisons carbone-hydrogène reste un défi et se traduit souvent par de faibles rendements et des sous-produits indésirables. Le projet PLACABIN, financé par l’UE, recourra à des méthodes informatiques et expérimentales pour développer une nouvelle approche de l’oxydation sélective des hydrocarbures basée sur la photocatalyse et utilisant des nanostructures bimétalliques. Une caractérisation minutieuse des processus, du niveau de la particule unique à celui de l’ensemble, en améliorera le contrôle et l’applicabilité.
Objectif
In PLACABIN, the candidate proposes a novel mode of plasmonic-nonplasmonic bimetallic photocatalysts based on the intermetallic effects between the plasmonic metal and catalytic metal. As a specific model, Au-Pd bimetallic nanostructures will be developed for the selective oxygenation of hydrocarbons, among which methane, cyclohexane, and toluene are adopted as the substrates. He will first syntheses Au-Pd bimetallic nanostructures and clarify their structure-activity relationship (WP1). Then he will make major effects to reveal the intermetallic effects between Au and Pd which contain optical and electronic coupling (WP2) and the plasmon-driven selective mechanism (WP3) through combined computational and experimental methods on both ensemble and single-particle levels. Based on these theoretical achievements, he will develop a designing principle guiding the construction of effective Au-Pd bimetallic nanostructures for plasmon-driven catalysis, which will be smoothly extended to other plasmonic-nonplasmonic bimetallic nanostructures. He will also develop a flow photochemical selective catalysis system based on Au-Pd bimetallic photocatalysts (WP4) to provide an application paradigm of this solar-driven procedure for selective oxidation reactions.
The candidate is an excellent researcher with the motivation and capability to conduct cutting-edge research, the skills to share and manage knowledge and supervise students. PLACABIN will generate high-impact publications guaranteeing the dissemination among academia. The well-organised outreach activities will help to communicate the results to a wider audience.
The implementation of this fellowship will contribute significantly to the professional development of the candidate to become a mature and independent researcher. It will strengthen his innovative research potential and his management and outreach skills, thus placing him in a leading position in his long-term research career.
Champ scientifique
Programme(s)
Régime de financement
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinateur
CF24 0DE Cardiff
Royaume-Uni