Project description
Near-neighbour effects and confinement help carbon atoms socialise and bond
Carbon is a fundamental building block of hydrocarbon fuels. Converting CO2 into fuels is thus an excellent way to close the carbon cycle, reducing climate-changing emissions while producing more sustainable fuels. The CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) is just that, the electrochemical conversion of CO2 into fuels and other chemical feedstocks. While the chemistry to produce products with one or two carbon atoms is well established, producing molecules with three or more carbons (C3+), including many high energy density products, is challenging. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the NANOconfine project will develop nanoprocesses to enhance control over the CO2RR, encouraging coupling and leading to C3+ products.
Objective
The electrocatalytic CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) holds the prospect to mitigate carbon emissions and at the same time convert CO2 into valuable chemicals, preferably from renewable energy sources. Depending on the number of electrons transferred, a variety of oxygenates and hydrocarbons can be obtained with already high selectivity demonstrated for C1 and C2 products. However, for the CO2RR to molecules with three or more carbon atoms (C3+) such as n-propanol, the fundamental knowledge and key-strategies to yield these economically attractive high-energy-density products are still lacking. In NANOconfine we propose a novel concept for CO2RR electrocatalysis, a so-called “inverse catalyst nanoconfined architecture”, that enables trapping and enhanced C-C coupling of crucial reaction intermediates by deterministic control of the local homogeneous and heterogeneous chemical environment. Specifically, we target for beyond-state-of-the-art Faradaic Efficiency >50% towards n-propanol as high-value liquid product. In order to design the optimal electrocatalyst architecture, a systematical approach is proposed to study the following effects on the CO2RR mechanism and product formation: (1) the near neighbor effect of co-catalysts in close proximity, (2) the confinement of reaction intermediates in regular arranged SiO2 mesopores (2-10nm) and (3) the confinement and surface chemistry of different mesoporous oxide 3D networks (MgO, ZnO, TiO2). From this understanding, we will build a demonstrator consisting of a nano-patterned co-catalysts (e.g. Cu and Ag) which interchange their reaction intermediates through a mesoporous oxide network so that they can undergo coupling to higher carbon products at neighboring electrocatalyst sites. NANOconfine will provide fundamental insights on the CO2RR reaction mechanism towards C3+ products in order to push forward the state-of-the-art of this emerging research topic.
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 chemical sciences catalysis electrocatalysis
- engineering and technology nanotechnology nano-materials
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels
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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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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
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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) H2020-MSCA-IF-2020
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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.
3001 Leuven
Belgium
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.