In recent years, there has been a growing search for clean, environmental friendly methodologies for organic synthesis. Organic electrochemistry offers an interesting alternative to tackle the issues for organic transformations.
The global energy demand continues to increase and poses great challenges regarding CO2 emissions. To this end, a shift to renewable energy sources is in progress.
In the future, renewables will gain importance. Combining the use of CO2 as a feedstock along with the supply of renewable energy can compensate for fluctuations in energy production, while at the same time reducing CO2 emissions.
Climate change and global warming has become a growing threat to our world, where the carbon dioxide emisisons are believed to be a major contributor. In order to serve the society and environment, the Sustainable Chemistry department of VITO has been focusing since recent years on CO2 valorization, mainly on the development of conversion technologies.
Functionalization of inert carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds is an important reaction in the chemical industry. The introduction of functional groups (e.g. oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, … atom) in otherwise inert molecules is necessary to construct more complex molecules for the bulk and fine chemicals industry.
Processes in energy applications and catalysis as well as biological processes become increasingly important as society’s focus shifts to sustainable resources and technology. A thorough understanding of these processes needs their detailed observation at a nano or atomic scale.
The main objective of the project is the development of technologies for the conversion of CO2 to value-added chemicals using catalysis and renewable energy. To benchmark, compare and develop the various technologies, the formation of formic acid is selected as the initial target.
Electron tomography has evolved into a state-of-the-art technique to investigate the 3 dimensional structure of nanomaterials, also at the atomic scale. However, new developments in the field of nanotechnology drive the need for even more advanced quantitative characterization techniques in 3 dimensions that can be applied to complex (hetero-)nanostructures.
Modern materials are made to perform a certain task very well at a low (energy) cost of production. This drive towards more efficient materials has shifted the attention from making e.g. the strongest material to making a sufficiently strong material at an acceptable use of natural resources.
