Catégories :
Teams

Active sitesAdvanced characterizationCarbidesCascade reactionCatalystsCharacterization under real conditionsCO2DihydrogenHeterogeneous catalysisHydroxyapatitesMOFsrecyclingSilicatesWaste valorization

Catalysis

From nanomaterial to active site reactivity

Our team is developing and investigating heterogeneous catalysts for the selective valorization of carbon dioxide (dry reforming [1,2], cyclic carbonates [3]), biomass (lignin) and plastic waste (polystyrene, polyethylene [4]) for the production of molecules of interest. Another emerging area of research concerns the vectorization of dihydrogen via the formation of ammonia or the exploitation of hydrogen-carrying organic liquids.

We have strong expertise in acid-base [5,6] and metal [1, 2, 7] catalysis. Our approach to the synthesis of catalytic materials is rational, based on our expertise in surface engineering and the tools we have for characterizing active sites. Recently, we have shown that we can achieve a high degree of control over the metal dispersion by changing the method of preparation of the porous oxide supports [1] or not [8], or the method of introduction of the metals (use of hydroxyapatites [9], MOFs [2], etc.). We also have to our credit various examples of synthesis of materials, sometimes composites [7], in which it is possible to compartmentalize or not the active phases in order to optimize cascade processes [3].

In the majority of cases, we use non-noble metals or, alternatively, bimetallic systems for which we have in-house expertise to monitor the properties under real or close conditions (X-ray absorption [10] and X-ray diffraction) and to characterize the colloidal dispersions that can be at stake in these systems. The laboratory has recently reinvested its skills in the synthesis of metal carbides, as substitutes for noble metals, for the valorization of biomass. We are also considering the use of materials [11] or metals recovered from depollution processes to manufacture catalysts.

Members

Frédéric Averseng
Juliette Blanchard
Souhir Boujday
Xavier Carrier
Guylene Costentin
Laurent Delannoy
Clément Guibert
Claude Jolivalt
Guillaume Laugel
Franck Launay
Yannick Millot
Thomas Onfroy
Helene Pernot
Julien Reboul
Cyril Thomas
Axel Wilson

Platforms and equipment

Synthesis robots
Microwave synthesis
Physisorption (N₂, CO₂, Ar, Kr, hysteresis loop scanning) /chemisorption (H₂, CO, O₂, NH₃, CO₂, NO_x), programmed temperature reduction (H₂-TPR)
FTIR coupled chemisorption of probe molecules (CO, NH₃, NO, etc)
TGA-MS
Dynamic light scattering (DLS)
Zeta potential measurement (through electrophoretic mobility or streaming potential/current)
Photoluminescence
Continuous Wave (CW) X-Band EPR
FTIR, Raman (in-situ) for structural characterization and surface properties
Catalytic tests for acid-base characterization
Autoclaves for reactions under pressure
HPLC and GC/MS
Fixed bed micro-reactors at atmospheric pressure or under pressure
FCMat technical platformSolid state NMR (500 and 700 MHz with probes (Cryo-probe MAS (He), High speed (1.3 mm) Low-gamma (²⁹Si-⁸⁷Sr), double and triple resonances) + liquid spectrometer (500 MHz) with, in particular, a Prodigy probe (N₂).
XPS
Electron microscopies
XEUSS device (Xenocs) for small/wide angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS/WAXS), equipped with multiple sample environments
D8 Discover (Bruker) equipped with an XRK900 operando chamber (Anton-Paar)