PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CATALYSTS FOR SMALL MOLECULES ACTIVATION INTO ENERGY CARRIERS

• Grant number: 23/05967-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2023
• End date: June 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Inorganic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Liane Marcia Rossi
• Grantee: Rodolfo Lopes Coppo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/00675-4 - Tying up materials for electrochemical energy storage and catalysis, AP.TEM

Abstract

Currently, scientific problems are becoming increasingly complex, requiring an interdisciplinary research approach. Because of this, the creation of a team with defined, competent and complementary expertise, as proposed in this thematic project, is of fundamental importance for the transition from science of incremental progress to a science that involves paradigm shifts and real impact on society. The use of nanomaterials in areas such as catalysis/biocatalysis and energy storage represents a well-established and promising strategy to overcome different challenges in these areas, and consequently, have a direct impact in relation to the development of cleaner and sustainable processes and clean/renewable energy generation. This post-doctoral project will focus on the development of nanomaterials for catalytic applications focused on small molecules activation into molecular energy carriers. The nanomaterials will be prepared by means to allow the precise correlation between structure and activity, allowing not only the optimization of performances, but also the "design" of nanomaterials with adequate characteristics in order to obtain new and / or improved properties, overcoming the limitations resulting from the use of conventional heterogeneous catalysts. Pre-treatments and catalyst conditioning under reaction conditions may lead to changes in the reaction selectivity as revealed in recent studies. Understanding the catalysts in different life stages can be as important as the control obtained in the starting material. Therefore, the expertise of the research groups including synthesis, catalysis and electro-and-photo-catalysis will be a great addition to this project.