El próximo 19 de junio Horatiu Szalad realizará la defensa de su tesis doctoral titulada: “Production of solar fuels employing different materials via photocatalytic or photothermal pathways”.

Horatiu Szalad defenderá su tesis el 19 de junio a las 12 p.m. en el Salón de Actos del ITQ (UPV-CSIC). La tesis ha sido dirigida por Hermenegildo García y Josep Albero.

El próximo viernes 7 de junio de 2024 a las 12h p.m. se llevará a cabo en el Salón de grados de la ETSII – UPV una nueva sesión de ITQ Severo Ochoa Lecture “Light, Nano and Functional Interfaces at work: from Fundamentals to catalysis”. La ponencia la impartirán Maurizio Prato, Marcella Bonchio y José Ramón Galán-Mascarós.

Maurizio Prato dará la ponencia “Carbon Nanodots: Nanolights for a Bright Future”.

Maurizio Prato. Professor, Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Trieste, Italy. CIC BiomaGUNE, San Sebastián, Spain. Título. Carbon Nanodots: Nanolights for a Bright Future.

In recent years, the focus of nanoscience and nanotechnology has gradually shifted from the synthesis of individual components to their assembly into larger systems and materials. Indeed, the precise organization of matter across multiple length scales is of particular interest because of its great potential for advanced functions and properties. The key challenges for the bottom-up assembly of nano-architectures relate to the control of surface composition of the building blocks. Specifically, exerting a precise control on the chemical functionalities of nanoparticles enables to guide their selective reaction towards the synthesis of complex suprastructures. In this context, carbon nanodots (CNDs), nanosized photoluminescent carbon particles, represent excellent starting units. Indeed, CNDs are described as composed of a carbon core covered by surface functionalities. The superficial properties regulate the interaction of the particles with the surrounding environment in terms of recognition and binding, reactivity, solvation, as well as the material processibility.

We have recently described a simple, scalable, reliable and cost-effective synthetic process for producing high-quality CNDs, by employing arginine and ethylenediamine as precursors [1,2]. The new material displays small size and high fluorescence quantum yields. Moreover, NCNDs can be easily post-functionalized, due to the abundant presence of amino groups.

We have also presented a rational synthetic design for mastering CND properties, showing the importance in the choice of the precursors. By using properly designed functional units, the desired  properties can be modulated, from the molecular to the nanoscale level in a controlled fashion. CNDs with customized emission can therefore be approached. Green, red and finally white-emitting CNDs were synthesized [3,4].

During this talk, we will communicate our latest results in this fast developing field.

 

Marcella Bonchio continuará con la ponencia “Bioinspired Supramolecular Photosynthesis”.

Marcella Bonchio. Full professor, Department of Chemical Science, University of Padova, ITM-CNR, INSTM unit, Padova, Italy.

In the early studies on Oxygenic Photosynthesis, the “quantasome hypothesis” led to seminal discoveries correlating the structure of natural photosystems with their complementary photo-redox functions. Indeed, and despite the vast bio-diversity footprint, just one protein complex is used by Nature as the H₂O-photolyzer: photosystem II (PSII). Man-made systems are still far from replicating the complexity of PSII, showing the ideal co-localization of Light Harvesting antennas with the functional Reaction Center (LH-RC).

We report herein a synthetic, spectroscopic and mechanistic study on the use of multi-metal catalysts for water oxidation and their combined use with visible light sensitizers and carbon-based nanostructures (CNS). In particular we will report on the design of multi-perylenebisimide (PBI) networks shaped to function by interaction with a polyoxometalate water oxidation catalyst (Ru₄POM). Our results with integrated artificial “quantasomes” formed both in solution and on photoelectrodes, show a: (i) red-shifted, light harvesting efficiency (LHE > 40%), (ii) favorable exciton accumulation and negligible excimeric loss; (iii) a robust amphiphilic structure; (iv) dynamic aggregation into large 2D-paracrystalline domains. The outcome is a hybrid organic-inorganic nanomaterial, showing a hierarchical supramolecular structure with a striking resemblance to the natural plasmid membranes, enabling water splitting using low energy green photons at overpotentials as low as the natural protein. These results are exploited within the European Project Plankt-ON (https://plankt-on.eu/).

 

Finalmente, José Ramón Galán-Mascarós impatirá la ponencia: Artificial leaves: optimising solar-to-fuels efficiency at a low cost.

José Ramón Galán-Mascarós. Professor, Institute of Chemical Research of Catalonia (ICIQ). Título de la charla: Artificial leaves: optimising solar-to-fuels efficiency at a low cost.

A major challenge to support the energy transition and transforming the current energy model into distributed, renewable production is the development of efficient artificial leaf-type devices capable of directly converting carbon dioxide (CO₂), water and sunlight into fuels and chemicals under ambient conditions. Viable technoeconomic analysis dictates a major requirement for artificial leaves: avoiding the use of expensive and critical  raw materials (CRM) to be sustainable and cost competitive.

In this presentation we will discuss the different approaches to build and scale artificial leaves with their advantages, regarding the efficiency of the overall processes able to transform solar energy into chemical bonds. We will emphasize the key parameters to improve performance and stability. And we will summarize the results of our European project A-LEAF (www.a-leaf.eu). Our consortium, with thirteen partners from eight different European countries, was able to design, build and demonstrate an artificial leaf with a >10% solar-to-fuels efficiency at remarkable current densities (> 17 mA cm^–2) under autonomous operation at room temperature, without adding sacrificial donors or electrical bias, and using exclusively non-CRM materials.

El próximo miércoles 5 de junio a las 12h p.m. se llevará a cabo en el Salón de actos del ITQ (UPV-CSIC) la ITQ Severo Ochoa Lecture “From Lab to Industry: A holistic Sorbent-based Materials Discovery Approach for Industrial Decarbonisation”.

La ponencia la impartirá Susana García, Professor, School of Engineering & Physical Sciences, Institute of Mechanical, Process & Energy Engineering. Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

 

Abstract:

The urgent need for affordable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly technologies to meet current and future energy demands has driven scientists and industrialists to seek impactful industrial-scale solutions. Innovations in materials design, particularly in gas separation processes such as carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, have gained significant attention.

CO2, largely from fossil fuel use and major industrial processes (e.g., steel, cement), is a major contributor to global warming. To significantly impact Net Zero Greenhouse Emission targets, technologies like carbon capture must remove gigatonnes of CO2 annually.

Sorbent-based carbon capture, using porous materials like Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs), separates CO2 from gas streams (e.g., flue gas, industrial gas, or air via Direct Air Capture).

Achieving efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective operations at scale requires reducing energy demands and costs. Innovations in material design, driven by computational techniques and reticular chemistry, have focused on identifying optimal MOF adsorbents. Despite progress, research often lacks a systems approach that spans disciplines and scales, necessary to overcome market entry barriers.

This lecture reviews our recent developments in designing a MOF innovation pipeline that addresses process requirements at scale. By integrating materials and process design with techno-economic and environmental performance indicators, we developed tools to expedite material discovery and direct R&D towards feasible, scalable performance goals. This systems- based approach accelerates the market entry of cost-competitive, low-impact, resource-efficient MOF-based carbon capture technologies.

 

Short Bio

Prof Susana Garcia received her PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Nottingham (UK) in 2010 and conducted post-doctoral research at the Spanish National Carbon Research Institute (INCAR- CSIC) before joining Heriot-Watt University (HWU) in Edinburgh (UK) as an Assistant Professor in 2014.

In 2017, she became the Associate Director in Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage at the Research Centre for Carbon Solutions (RCCS), an interdisciplinary world leading engineering centre, inspiring and delivering innovation for the wider deployment of technologies needed to meet necessary carbon targets. She was appointed to Associate Professor in 2019 and to Full Professor of Chemical and Process Engineering in 2021. In 2023, Prof Garcia received a Visiting Professor Award to move to École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and in 2024 she was named Global Head of the Institute of Mechanical, Process and Energy Engineering at Heriot-Watt University.

Prof Garcia’s research program focuses on advancing materials and separation processes for energy, industrial and environmental applications. Her team has changed the paradigm on how novel processes based on advanced materials are designed through the integration of process engineering and fundamental science.

She has published more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles (i.e., in Nature, Nature Materials, Science Advances, Energy and Environmental Science) with over 3200 citations, reports for companies and participated in more than 100 national and international conferences and workshops. In recognition of her outstanding professional trajectory, she received the SRUK Emerging Talent Award in 2020 by the Society of Spanish Researchers in the UK and sponsored by the Banco Santander Foundation under its “Young Talent” programme. Her leadership roles include participation in funding agencies’ peer review panels of research centres of excellence and prestigious grants and fellowship programmes; Scientific advisor to companies, foundations, and other investors; and Member of Scientific Societies.

Doctoral Candidate: Eva Andrés Marcos
Director: Gonzalo Prieto González
Tutor: Antonio Eduardo Palomares Gimeno
Doctoral programme: PhD in Sustainable Chemistry
Research team: Catálisis Heterogénea y combustibles limpios a partir de fuentes alternativas al petróleo

Date of the defence: 03/05/2024, 11:30 h.
Modality: On site
Defence place / links: Salón de Actos (Planta baja) Instituto Universitario Mixto de Tecnología Química (ITQ) CAMPUS UPV. AVDA DE LOS NARANJOS S/N. EDIFICO 6C 46022 Valencia

El próximo día 25 de marzo (salón de actos, 12h) contaremos con la Conferencia ITQ Severo Ochoa de Takato Mitsudome (Osaka University) titulada: “Air-stable and Highly Active Metal Phosphide Catalysts for Green Sustainable Reductive Molecular Transformations»