Nanostructured catalysts for the synthesis of chemicals and renewable fuels

由于主要来自化石燃料的温室气体浓度的增加，全球变暖已成为最紧迫的环境问题之一。用清洁和可再生能源取代化石燃料的能力在很大程度上取决于能够将阳光和温室气体转化为电力、化学品和燃料的材料的发展。纳米结构材料可以提供清洁能源的潜在途径，因为它们将提供催化剂，可以最大限度地提高阳光转换率。基于申请人在化学和材料科学方面的研究经验，本项目将广泛探索纳米结构催化剂在能源相关应用方面的设计。该项目特别关注提高氢气产量和二氧化碳转化为燃料和有价值化学品的可能性。在整个项目中获得的实验结果和见解将用于将光催化应用于工业应用。这项工作对下一代能源的主要好处将是展示开发充分利用太阳能的技术的重要性。这里开展的工作将直接影响下一代可再生能源的战略发展。

Global warming has become one of the most urgent environmental concerns due to the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases that are mainly stemmed from fossil fuels. Ability to replace fossil fuels with clean and renewable energy strongly depends on the development of materials that can convert sunlight and greenhouse gases into electricity, chemicals and fuels. Nanostructured materials can provide a potential pathway towards clean energy as they will offer catalysts that can maximize the sunlight conversion rate. Building up on the research experience in chemistry and material science by the applicant, the proposed program will extensively explore design of nanostructured catalysts for energy-related applications. The program specifically looks at the possibility to boost the production rate of hydrogen gas and the conversion rate of carbon dioxide into fuels and valuable chemicals. The experimental results and insights obtained throughout this program will be used to implement photocatalysis into industrial applications. The major benefits of this work to the next energy generation will be demonstrating the important of developing technology to fully exploit sunlight energy. The work performed here will have a direct impact strategic development of the next generation of renewable energy.