SusChEM: Electrocatalytic Hydrogenation of Biorenewable Feedstock to Fuels and Chemicals

PI：Jean-Philippe Tessonnier提案编号：1512126植物生物质是一种丰富、廉价和可再生的原料，可用于生产液体运输燃料和化学品。生物质高度选择性的化学转化为特定的生物燃料和化学品需要催化剂。然而，为了具有成本效益和真正可持续，必须开发使用以地壳中丰富的材料为基础的催化剂的生物质转化过程。此外，如果这些新催化剂可以在电化学过程中使用，那么组合的电催化过程就提供了一种全新的途径，可以选择性地将生物质转化为燃料和有用的化学品，特别是通过一种称为加氢的过程。该项目将对这些反应所涉及的机理有一个基本的了解，以便合理地设计更有效和更有选择性的生物质转化过程。该项目提供的教育活动侧重于开发一系列关于可再生能源和纳米技术的短片，主要针对中学和高中教师，因为他们处于独特的地位，可以在大量学生中激发对科学的兴奋和好奇心。本研究的目标是探索新的电催化剂和电催化途径，在常温下，在水相反应介质中将生物可再生分子氢化成生物燃料和化学品。基于非贵金属的双金属催化剂将被合理地设计来抑制纳米结构碳电极上的析氢反应，以提高催化剂表面的氢利用率。这项拟议的研究将寻求对环境条件下水中来自生物可再生来源的各种化合物中C=C和C=O键的电催化加氢有基本的了解，特别是乙酰丙酸和米可酸。这些信息将被用来合理地设计电催化剂，使其在可扩展的电解反应器中具有更高的活性和对目标产物的选择性。这项研究的跨学科性质将为研究生和本科生提供电化学工程、催化反应、生物可再生能源和生物燃料方面的培训。外联活动涉及K-12教师的专业发展和将他们的研究经验转化为他们的课程和课堂，这将包括就能源、气候变化、可再生能源和纳米技术方面的广泛挑战制作短片。

PI: Jean-Philippe Tessonnier Proposal Number: 1512126Plant biomass represents an abundant, cheap, and renewable feedstock for the production of liquid transportation fuels and chemicals. The highly selective chemical conversion of biomass to specific biofuels and chemicals requires catalysts. However, to be cost-effective and truly sustainable, biomass conversion processes that use catalysts based on materials abundant in the Earths crust must be developed. Furthermore, if these new catalysts can be used within an electrochemical process, the combined electrocatalytic process offers a whole new route to selectively tailor the conversion of biomass into fuels and useful chemicals, particularly through a process called hydrogenation. This project will develop a fundamental understanding of the mechanisms involved in these reactions to rationally design more efficient and selective biomass conversion processes. Educational activities offered by the project focus on the development of a series of short videos on renewables and nanotechnology that primarily targets middle and high school teachers, as they are in a unique position to generate excitement and curiosity for science in a large body of students.The goal of this research is to explore new electrocatalysts and electrocatalytic pathways to hydrogenate biorenewable molecules into biofuels and chemicals in aqueous phase reaction medium at ambient temperatures. Bimetallic catalysts based on non-noble metals will be rationally designed to suppress the hydrogen evolution reaction on nanostructured carbon electrodes in order to increase hydrogen availability on the catalyst surface. The proposed research will seek to gain fundamental understanding of the electrocatalytic hydrogenation of C=C and C=O bonds in various compounds derived from biorenewable sources, particularly levulinic and muconic acid, in water under ambient conditions. This information will be then used to rationally design electrocatalysts with improved activity and selectivity towards target products in scalable electrolysis reactors. The interdisciplinary nature of this research will provide students at the graduate and undergraduate levels with training in electrochemical engineering, catalytic reactions, biorenewables, and biofuels. Outreach activities involve the professional development of K-12 teachers and the translation of their research experience into their curricula and classrooms, which will involve the development of short videos on broad challenges in energy, climate change, renewables, and nanotechnology.