Metal nitrides - catalyst and process development towards value added chemicals.

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Methane will undoubtedly change the chemical industry and replace petroleum as main hydrocarbon feedstock for the synthesis of chemicals in the years to come. In addition, using recycled/captured carbon dioxide and hydrogen generated by renewable electricity would allow not only to significantly reduce the associated greenhouse gas emission but also to close the material loops, a key imperative in the transition to a circular economy. The use of a catalyst is key to the development of environmentally friendly and economically feasible conversion processes. There is no doubt that catalysis plays a critical role. Therefore, my long-term vision and plan are to develop and understand catalyzed processes and reactor engineering concepts dedicated to the sustainable conversion of CH4 and CO2, which also has been identified as one of the grand challenges in catalysis and green chemistry. The proposed research program in this field is original and innovative as it will concentrate on new metal-nitride based catalyst systems. Most research is focused on precious metals and metal oxides, which are the most investigated catalyst materials. Metal nitride, on the other hand, is a rather new class of heterogeneous catalysts that is still not very well understood. They have unique properties, and it is suggested that simple metal nitrides can replace precious metals for various reactions. My overall aim is to gain deeper fundamental understanding of the role of the catalyst active sites and surface intermediates in order to design better catalysts and processes. With the Discovery Grant I can freely explore new ideas and develop new catalysts with well-defined structures in order to get a comprehensive assessment of the structure-activity relationship. In detail, we will (1) develop new metal nitride structures, and assess their (2) catalytic and (3) plasma-catalytic reactivity towards the direct conversion of CH4 and CO2. The work will be conducted by 3 PhD, 3 Master's and 5 undergraduate students following a framework consisting of comprehensive experimental and modeling procedures. In summary, metal nitrides are a promising class of catalysts and this research program will contribute to the advancement of fundamental knowledge in catalysis but it also offers great potential for large scale applications. With this in mind, I expect to contribute not only to scientific publications and students training but also to patent applications as well as to technology transfer to the Canadian industry.