How catalysts secretly lose their stability

Covalent organic framework compounds are more active as catalysts than one would expect

28-Nov-2024 - Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) are less stable as catalysts than previously thought but remain highly active. COFs are promising designer catalysts, for example for the sustainable production of chemicals and fuels. Their properties can be adjusted very specifically to catalyze a desired ...

Maximizing Hydrogen Peroxide Formation during Water Electrolysis

Killing two birds with one stone

23-Jul-2024 - When water is split electrolytically, the result is typically hydrogen – and useless oxygen. Instead of oxygen, you can also produce a useful product. If you know how. Due to its high availability, water is considered the most useful starting material for hydrogen production. Ideally, the ...

New ways to fine tune electrochemistry

Scientists have found new paths to steer and optimize electrochemical processes

15-Apr-2024 - Optimizing electrochemical reactions is essential for the transition to renewable energies. In electrochemical reactions, electric currents and potential differences are used to binding and induce reactions. Electrochemistry is a pre-requisite for hydrogen production, and for batterie technology, ...

Sustainable raw materials for a green chemical industry

Launch of the BEFuel project: From exhaust gases and wastewater to e-fuels and high-quality chemicals

29-Jan-2024 - How can e-fuels and biosurfactants for industry be produced from exhaust gases and wastewater? An interdisciplinary consortium coordinated by Fraunhofer UMSICHT is addressing this question in the newly launched BEFuel project. The focus is on coupled bioelectrochemical production – i.e. the ...

Novel Catalyst System for CO2 Conversion

Efficiency and long-lasting stability

03-Jan-2024 - Researchers are constantly pushing the limits of technology by breaking new ground in CO2 conversion. Their goal is to turn the harmful greenhouse gas into a valuable resource. Research groups around the world are developing technologies to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) into raw materials for ...

Wastewater treatment plants as drivers for the energy transition

Technical add-on module can, in principle, turn any wastewater treatment plant into a CO2 sink and decentralized methane production plant

21-Sep-2023 - By implementing an innovative technology, any wastewater treatment plant would be able to produce methane from carbon dioxide in an environmentally friendly way. If some microorganisms present in wastewater treatment plants are additionally supplied with hydrogen and carbon dioxide, they produce ...

A treasure map for the realm of electrocatalysts

Research into promising materials is hampered by the sheer number of possible candidates: An efficient method to solve this problem now developed

17-Jan-2022 - Efficient electrocatalysts, which are needed for the production of green hydrogen, for example, are hidden in materials composed of five or more elements. A team from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and the University of Copenhagen has developed an efficient method for identifying promising ...

The role of hydrophobic molecules in catalytic reactions

Optimising electrochemical processes is one of the challenges in developing technologies for renewable energies. New research findings could provide assistance here.

15-Apr-2021 - Electrochemical processes could be used to convert CO2 into useful starting materials for industry. To optimise the processes, chemists are attempting to calculate in detail the energy costs caused by the various reaction partners and steps. Researchers from Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and ...

Challenges in the development of electrocatalysts

What would have to change in research to develop efficient, stable and selective catalysts for industrial application?

21-Aug-2020 - Efficient catalysts are crucial for energy conversion. However, findings from basic research rarely make it into practice at present. Regenerative energy harvesting often generates more electricity than is directly needed. Electrochemical processes could be used to store the excess energy or make ...

Catalyst deposition on fragile chips

17-Feb-2020 - Electrocatalysts can help to obtain chemicals from renewable raw materials or to use alternative energy sources. But testing new catalysts brings challenges. Researchers at the Ruhr-Universität Bochum (RUB) and the University of Duisburg-Essen have developed a new method of depositing catalyst ...