• What is the problem/issue being addressed?
With the crisis of fossil fuel shortage and climate change, the utilization of renewable energy is getting increasing attention. In this project, I developed a new technology to use renewable energy. In detail, a material/catalyst is developed to finish the energy conversion more efficiently than previous materials. The stability of the material is tested and it was found that this material showed very good stability after 100 h time on stream (no obvious deactivation was observed). The reaction conditions, such as reaction temperature and pressure are optimized. Moreover, this study detected the reaction intermediates and revealed the reaction mechanisms. Overall, this study developed a new material/technology to convert the energy, which will be inspiring for future studies and potential commercialization.
• Why is it important for society?
In the Paris Agreement, countries agreed to limit the increase of global temperature below 2 C compared with the pre-industrial level. Later, it was proposed 2 C is not enough, even 1.5 C should be sought to avoid the world from suffering serious situations. Therefore, countries proposed the scenarios according to their current situations to stop climate change. For example, the EU aimed to reduce carbon dioxide emission by 40% at 2030 compared with 1990. To meet this goal, the utilization of renewable energy is critical and the most effective solution. Therefore, developing novel technologies for the utilization or storage of renewable is important to the society.
• What are the overall objectives?
The overall objective of this study is to establish a novel technology that can convert renewable energy in a more efficient way. This objective includes the development of novel catalysts that shows high activity and stability, and the optimization of the reaction conditions.