Descrizione del progetto
Imaging in tempo reale per tenere traccia della formazione dei catalizzatori
I catalizzatori a base di nanomateriali sono di solito catalizzatori eterogenei suddivisi in nanoparticelle per accelerare il processo catalitico. Rispetto alle loro controparti più grandi, le nanoparticelle metalliche hanno una superficie maggiore, con una conseguente maggiore attività catalitica. Finora, la caratterizzazione spettroscopica dei materiali in reazione, abbinata alla contemporanea misurazione dell’attività e della selettività catalitica, è stata condotta in condizioni ideali. L’ambizione del progetto CARINE, finanziato dall’UE, è quella di seguire in situ e operando l’evoluzione strutturale delle nanoparticelle catalitiche in condizioni realistiche avvalendosi dell'imaging di diffrazione coerente. La nuova tecnica di imaging aiuterà i ricercatori a comprendere meglio la formazione dei catalizzatori e a migliorarne ulteriormente la durata e l’efficienza.
Obiettivo
Heterogeneous catalysis of nanoparticles has recently emerged as highly promising way to speed up catalytic processes due to their far higher surface area compared to bulk materials. But they face significant challenges in achieving high catalytic activity and sufficient durability. A key problem has been that all existing approaches to the characterization of atomic scale phenomena in these materials either lack structural specificity or can be employed under highly unrealistic catalytic environments. As an example, operando x-ray catalysis has often been carried out under idealized conditions and averaging information from macroscopic facets. This approach suffers from the lack of transferability to nanocrystalline systems. To tackle this problem, I am developing new state-of-the-art in situ techniques based on coherent x-ray scattering and complementary chemical characterization, with which I will optimize catalyst and reactor operations simultaneously. This is the ambition of the CARINE project to study in situ and operando the structural evolution of catalytic nanoparticles in realistic conditions during reaction by using the unique capabilities of coherent diffraction Bragg imaging (CDI). My proposed work builds on my recent exciting proof-of-concept experiments using Pt nanocrystals that demonstrate the sensitivity and spatial resolution of CDI under liquid conditions. As dedicated instruments for CDI have just reached user operation, it is only now that this new imaging technique can be applied during reaction and can probe structural changes of individual nanocrystals under conditions where up to now, no other techniques could probe the relevant parameters. My project will shed light into most relevant unsolved issues (durability, activity…) that limit the efficiency of today’s industrial processes and will open new horizons with outstanding impact in catalytic research.
Campo scientifico
Parole chiave
Programma(i)
Argomento(i)
Meccanismo di finanziamento
ERC-COG - Consolidator GrantIstituzione ospitante
75015 PARIS 15
Francia