Project description
Advancing our understanding of mechanochemistry
Ball milling mechanochemistry has been a revolutionary advancement in recent years, with applications in a variety of solutions and processes. Researchers exploring its potential were able to utilise it for effecting catalytic reactions, including catalytic ammonia synthesis from H2 and N2, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Unfortunately, despite this success, we still lack key knowledge about the molecular processes that power mechanical activation. Funded by the European Research Council, the BM3L-2 project aims to investigate several relevant hypotheses at the atomic level to derive key insights, elucidate the processes underlying key mechanochemical reactions, and ultimately advance mechanochemistry and our understanding of it.
Objective
Ball milling mechanochemistry is receiving tremendous attention over the last years. The applicant has pioneered the use of it for effecting catalytic reactions, culminating in catalytic ammonia synthesis from H2 and N2 at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. In spite of the success in driving reactions mechanically, the molecular level understanding of the key processes under mechanical activation is still in its infancy. The proposed program will change this, using methods giving insight at the atomic scale. By a multi-pronged approach, the applicant – partly in collaborations - will experimentally probe at the atomic scale hypotheses, which have been put forward to explain the special effects of mechanochemical reactions, to provide key elements for a conceptual understanding.
Three topical areas will be covered, in addition, one general purpose tool for the study of mechanochemical reactions will be developed. (1) Temperature dependent luminescence will be used to monitor temperatures during model impacts in order to probe the hot spot and magma/plasma hypotheses. (2) The role of hypothetical, short-lived, mechanically induced defects in catalysis will be analyzed locally at the atomic scale in scanning probe microscopes. (3) In order to understand mechanically induced phase transitions, mechanical forces will be applied in-situ to precursor crystals in a transmission electron microscope (TEM), and phase transitions, for instance from boehmite to corundum, will be followed at the atomic scale by TEM imaging. (4) As a general tool to study the influence of mechanical forces, a hammer/anvil system will be developed in which directly after applying mechanical force the system can be studied by various analytical methods. Overall, the program is expected to provide deep mechanistic understanding of different aspects of mechanochemistry to advance it to a next level.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences physical sciences optics microscopy
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
- engineering and technology chemical engineering chemical process engineering
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2023-ADG
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
45470 Muelheim An Der Ruhr
Germany
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