Modification of NiWO4 by femtosecond laser for application as catalysts in sulfide oxidation reactions

• Grant number: 23/01170-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 05, 2024
• End date: July 19, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Elson Longo da Silva
• Grantee: Giovanna de Amorim Grasser
• Supervisor: Rosa Maria Llusar Barelles
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Universitat Jaume I, Spain
• Associated to the scholarship: 22/09715-1 - Sulfide oxidation via chitosan-supported g-C3N4/NiWO4 composites, BP.IC

Abstract

The continuous search for cleaner fuels motivates the development of functional materials capable of transforming an unwanted compound into another. On this reasoning, nanomaterials can be adopted in the elaboration as catalysts, efficient and low cost. The oxidation of sulfides is extremely important for the petrochemical industry, because through it it is possible to control the degree of sulfurization of fuels, and thus minimize the effects caused by the burning of sulfur species in their combustion. In addition, it is extremely used in the pharmaceutical industry for the production of sulfones, which are key molecules in drug development. In this way, using catalysts based on metal/semiconductor interfaces can be an extremely interesting way to achieve high selectivity in oxidation processes. In addition, encapsulating these particles with a biodegradable support can help dispersion, stability and recycling of the catalyst, in addition to reducing the environmental impacts generated by the process. This project proposes the use of Ni/NiWO4 interfaces supported on chitosan, obtained by irradiating the base solutions with a femtosecond laser, for the oxidation of sulfides. The central objective is to increase the catalytic efficiency of this catalyst through intrinsic modifications generated by ultrafast light pulses. The base solutions of the catalysts will be synthesized by the methodology developed by the student in Brazil with the modification technique and catalytic reaction performed in the Materials Molecular Group at Universitat Jaume I.