Project description
Fast and efficient chemical synthesis using green photocatalysts in a microchannel reactor
PhoMatFlow has developed heterogeneous photocatalysts with great potential for the green production of numerous chemicals of industrial and pharmaceutical interest. The team is now developing microchannel reactor technology and a commercialisation plan to support it. Microchannel reactors, with their numerous tiny channels and continuous flow, are attracting increasing attention for use in chemical production. Their high surface to volume ratios and vastly improved fluid mixing compared to conventional reactors yield excellent thermal and mass transfer properties. To exploit the microchannel reactor, the team is also developing methods to load the photocatalysts onto cartridges. These innovative materials and processes will support academia and industry in the discovery and production of new chemicals sustainably, cost-effectively and efficiently.
Objective
During the research of the ERC-funded project UNBICAT (ERC-CoG, contract number 647550), the Principal Investigator, and his research group have developed new photocatalysts and their application in different organic transformations. A recent development of the project has been the preparation of new photocatalysts and their immobilization onto different materials, making them heterogeneous catalysts. These heterogeneous photocatalysts are able to produce chemicals and products of interest to the chemical industry. Therefore, the heterogeneous photocatalysts developed in this project are expected to become valuable tools for the production of chemicals under more sustainable and milder conditions. The aim of the present Proof of Concept (PoC) project is to study their implementation in cartridges and microchannel reactors for flow chemistry. For this purpose, reaction optimization to scale-up the current mg-scale synthesis of the heterogeneous photocatalysts, and their incorporation onto cartridges and microchannel reactors will be carried out. In addition, the photocatalytic performance of the devices in the preparation of chemicals and products of interest to the industry will be validated using flow chemistry. This PoC project will also contain an analysis of the intellectual property and patent filing procedure required to protect the inventions within the field of synthesis and application of the catalyst. Additionally, a market analysis to identify potential industrial partners will be conducted. These photocatalytic cartridges and microchannel reactors will be valuable tools in different fields of the chemical industry for manufacturing chemicals, but also in academia for the preparation of products and to address other novel transformations.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
ERC-POC-LS - ERC Proof of Concept Lump Sum PilotHost institution
28049 Madrid
Spain