Project description
How magnetism influences catalytic reactions at a fundamental level
Greenhouse gases like CO2 need to be converted into valuable materials to combat climate change, yet current catalysts are not efficient enough. Magnetocatalysis, which uses magnetic materials to improve catalytic reactions, has shown potential, but the mechanisms behind its effectiveness remain unclear. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the SPECTRA project will focus on a special type of magnetic material called spinel ferrite to understand how its magnetic and electronic properties influence reactions. Using a specially designed reaction cell and advanced soft X-ray techniques, researchers will study these processes in real time under ongoing operating conditions. This groundbreaking work should help reveal how magnetism drives catalytic performance, opening the door to cheaper, greener and more efficient catalysts to reduce greenhouse gases.
Objective
It is nowadays well known the urgent need of cheap, green and efficient catalysts able to convert greenhouse gases into more valuable and recyclable hydrocarbons. In this context, magnetocatalysis is an extremely promising field: in the last few years, a growing number of researchers discovered enhanced performances for electrocatalytic reactions in ferromagnetic materials. The majority of these studies report empirical results, and a satisfactory explanation of the mechanism ruling the spin effects is not well understood, mainly due to the lack of suitable experimental techniques. Regarding thermocatalytic reactions (such as CO oxidation or CO2 hydrogenation), studies on the effects of applied external magnetic field and intrinsic magnetic order on the activity and selectivity of magnetic catalysts are almost completely missing. This project aims to systematically unveil the mechanisms ruling the spin effects in catalytic solid/gas reactions; for the first time, we will simultaneously characterize the magnetic and electronic properties of the single chemical species constituting spinel ferrites catalysts during different solid/gas reactions in operando conditions, with and without the presence of an applied magnetic field. This will be possible through the development and application of a reaction cell that will allow to perform Soft X-Ray Magnetic Circular Dichroism experiments in operando conditions: this will be done modifying the pre-existing operando Soft X-Ray NEXAFS reaction cells developed at the APE-HE beamline of Elettra Synchrotron. The cell will be installed at the SPECIES beamline of MAX IV Synchrotron and the measurements will be conducted exploiting the available circular polarized Synchrotron Radiation. Together with complementary techniques and offline catalytic tests, we will investigate the fundamental aspects of solid/gas magnetocatalysis, building the basis for the development of an innovative green and cheap new type of heterogeneous catalysis
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 electrochemistry electrolysis
- natural sciences chemical sciences organic chemistry hydrocarbons
- natural sciences chemical sciences catalysis
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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
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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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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22100 Lund
Sweden
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