Project description
Advancing energy conversion and chemical transformation systems
The increasing frequency of natural disasters worldwide highlights the urgent need to address climate change through the development and implementation of effective solutions, policies and technologies. One critical area in this effort is the advancement of novel energy conversion solutions, especially for green energy technologies. The ERC-funded More4Less project aims to develop proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) shuttles that can significantly improve the transformation of N2, CO and CO2 into valuable resources. The project will enhance PCET capabilities to harness light and water, while ensuring efficiency and selectivity are maintained. Moreover, it will focus on improving integration for practical applications, offering valuable insights into future energy conversion and catalytic systems.
Objective
Protons and electrons are the currency of energy conversion and play a key role in some of the most transformative technologies such as the reduction of N2, CO or CO2. Exploiting water and sunlight as renewable resources for these transformations offers a means for solar-to-chemicals conversion. Thus, our ability to control the transfer of protons and electrons preventing the more favourable formation of H2 poses an exciting fundamental problem.
Strategies based on proton coupled electron transfer (PCET) have demonstrated key benefits by providing low energy pathways that bypass the most energetic, charged intermediates. However, important problems remain regarding the development of PCET shuttles that: (1) behave as catalysts harnessing water and light, (2) promote multi PCET to avoid unstable radical intermediates that undermine the selectivity and efficiency, and (3) can be integrated in complex multielectron/multiproton transformations relevant to solar energy conversion such as N2 reduction.
I will address these problems by designing metal-organic PCET shuttles that target three specific objectives: (1) to merge light and electricity for reductive PCET in a novel photoelectrocatalytic strategy using molecular shuttles that exploit counter oxidation reactions of practical relevance, (2) to achieve an unprecedented control over multi PCET to impact the selectivity of reductive transformations via the colocalization of redox and acid/base sites within coordination cages, and (3) to integrate photo(electro)catalytic PCET in small molecule catalysis with new tandem approaches towards the reduction of N2 using light and water.
Overall, these objectives will provide unconventional tools to affect the mechanisms of reductive reactions. Besides transgressing the frontiers of knowledge in the field of PCET, and more generally energy conversion, More4Less has the potential to change the paradigm in which we develop catalytic systems for solar-to-chemical transformation.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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.
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
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.
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
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-STG
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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.
18071 GRANADA
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.