Descrizione del progetto
Singoli atomi come catalizzatori chiave per reazioni sostenibili
L’elettrificazione dell’industria chimica offre opportunità per ridurre l’impatto ambientale di questo settore. In questo modo è possibile evitare quantità stechiometriche di ossidanti/riducenti chimici tossici, consentendo di alimentare la produzione chimica direttamente da parchi solari ed eolici al posto delle centrali termoelettriche. Per raggiungere questo obiettivo, sono fondamentali elettrocatalizzatori nuovi, efficienti e selettivi. Finanziato dal programma di azioni Marie Skłodowska-Curie, il progetto SSEFR definirà nuovi elettrocatalizzatori a singolo atomo che contengono componenti abbondanti sulla Terra per reazioni di accoppiamento carbonio-carbonio in condizioni di flusso continuo, combinando la progettazione del catalizzatore con l’elettrosintesi sostenibile e aprendo la strada a una produzione più ecologica di prodotti chimici e farmaceutici.
Obiettivo
One of the greatest challenges of our generation is to implement sustainable and ‘energy smart’ chemical manufacturing processes. This can be accomplished via the electrification of the chemical industry, where electrons serve as a clean redox reagent to drive processes under mild conditions. This would avoid stoichiometric amounts of reagent waste from toxic chemical oxidants/reductants, and help resolve intermittency issues associated with renewables, as excess supply could be directed and stored into a stable chemical bond. However, to reach this goal, efficient and selective electrocatalysts are required. ‘Single-site catalysts’ today represent a new frontier, devised as a means to circumvent the issues regarding the non-uniformity and multi-faceted nature of conventional heterogeneous catalysts, which often experience poor selectivity towards the targeted reaction. Merging the benefits of electro- and single-site catalysis into a complete heterogeneous system is thus a highly innovative and sustainable approach towards modernising synthetic processes. In this MSCA action, I will therefore design novel, single-site, heterogeneous electrocatalysts, comprised of earth-abundant components, for conducting valorised and energy-storing C-C coupling reactions under continuous-flow conditions. In particular, my first objective will be to acquire fundamental insight into the design, development and understanding of precious-metal-free single-site electrocatalytic systems for the purposes of conducting such organic transformations. This project will then go a step further, to rationally engineer and manufacture catalytic flow reactors, in order to intensify the targeted process via the numerous benefits that flow chemistry offers in place of conventional batch electrochemical cells.
Campo scientifico
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysisphotocatalysis
- natural scienceschemical sciencescatalysiselectrocatalysis
- engineering and technologynanotechnologynano-materialstwo-dimensional nanostructures
- engineering and technologychemical engineeringchemical process engineering
- natural scienceschemical sciencesphysical chemistry
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinatore
20133 Milano
Italia