Skip to main content
European Commission logo
français français
CORDIS - Résultats de la recherche de l’UE
CORDIS
CORDIS Web 30th anniversary CORDIS Web 30th anniversary

Single-Atom Catalysts for a New Generation of Chemical Processes: from Fundamental Understanding to Interface Engineering

Description du projet

De nouveaux catalyseurs pour une synthèse chimique plus écologique

La transition vers des processus de fabrication plus durables dans l’industrie chimique est un défi. Les approches conventionnelles dépendent fortement des ressources non renouvelables, ce qui entraîne la production d’une quantité importante de déchets. Des catalyseurs innovants et plus performants, susceptibles d’améliorer l’efficacité des réactions chimiques et de réduire leur empreinte environnementale, sont donc indispensables. Financé par le Conseil européen de la recherche, le projet SAC_2.0 entend développer une nouvelle classe de catalyseurs, connus sous le nom de «catalyseurs à atome unique», qui minimisent l’utilisation de matières premières critiques et peuvent être adaptés à la synthèse chimique verte. La recherche combinera des approches synthétiques et théoriques pour étudier la structure et les propriétés de ces matériaux. De nouvelles méthodes évolutives de fabrication de ces catalyseurs seront également développées.

Objectif

The grand challenge for the chemical industries of the 21st century is the transition to more sustainable manufacturing processes that efficiently use raw materials and eliminate waste. Catalysis engineering is the key enabling technology to drive this transition, and single-atom catalysis is an emerging new approach to catalyst design. However, major questions concerning the local structure of these systems, their reactivity, and their evolution when prepared and structurally integrated into chemical devices are elusive.
This project will address these important scientific gaps, laying the foundation for a new generation of catalysts for CO2 conversion. To unveil their microscale functioning, I will study for the first time the charge transfer taking place before, during, and after reactant adsorption and surface reactivity. This will be done combining synthesis, operando characterizations, microkinetics, and theoretical methods. Then, merging microreactor technology and process intensification, I will manufacture single-atom catalysts in powder and as miniaturized thin films or foams, using new, scalable and greener methods. This will bypass current limitations in terms of efficiency and metal dispersion, and close the gap on challenges related to catalyst-reactor integration, bridging chemical and device engineering. The materials will be validated in the valorization of CO2 to derive structure-function relationships and prove major catalytic improvements under realistic conditions.
Overall, this is a fundamental and interdisciplinary project with ambitious objectives and high-risk/high-gain potential, that will go beyond the traditional pillars of catalysis. The scientific outcomes will provide new perspectives in catalysis and open paths in other fields, such as materials chemistry, green synthesis, and purification science. My pioneering contributions in this field and new proof-of-concept data place me in a unique position to undertake this fundamental study.

Régime de financement

HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants

Institution d’accueil

POLITECNICO DI MILANO
Contribution nette de l'UE
€ 1 499 681,00
Adresse
PIAZZA LEONARDO DA VINCI 32
20133 Milano
Italie

Voir sur la carte

Région
Nord-Ovest Lombardia Milano
Type d’activité
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Liens
Coût total
€ 1 499 681,00

Bénéficiaires (1)