Laboratory for Catalysis and Sustainable Chemistry
An important part of our research therefore focuses on providing understanding of a functioning catalyst with the ultimate aim to be able to design better catalytic processes. This reflects the general research theme within the laboratory, which is to provide understanding of a functioning respectively functional material. The laboratory is in particular strong in the development and application of in situ / operando time- and space-resolved measurements. For that, we maintain strong links to the synchrotron. We apply methods based on X-ray absorption and emission and X-ray photoemission spectroscopies, in addition to ptychographic imaging. High space-resolution is achieved in both the hard and soft X-ray regimes and diffractive and spectroscopic imaging is explored.
News
Mechanistic insights into catalytic conversion of methane under non-oxidative conditions
Our recent publication, a collaboration between ETH and the Paul Scherrer Institute, sheds light on the complex gas-phase reaction network presented during methane conversion under non-oxidative conditions over iron-modified silica.
The dynamics of overlayer formation on catalyst nanoparticles and strong metal-support interaction
The editors at Nature Communications have put together an Editors’ Highlights webpage of recent research called “Catalysis” and chose to feature Arik Beck's et al. article, entitled “The dynamics of overlayer formation on catalyst nanoparticles and strong metal-support interaction”.
PUBLISHED IN NATURE: A stable low-temperature H2-production catalyst by crowding Pt on α-MoC
Platinum isolated atoms and clusters supported on molybdenum carbide have been extensively characterized. The presence of both species is essential to boost the stability, so that the catalysts displays high metal-normalized turnover number of 4,300,000 moles of hydrogen per mole of platinum
How to trick electrons to see the hidden face of crystals - LSK researchers try a trick for complete 3D analysis of submicron crystals
Breakthrough in 3D structure analysis by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) achieved by members of the LSK. Their paper published in Nature Communications will add a new dimension to TEM and thus is highlighted by Die Presse, Der Standard and phys.org.
Floating islands to convert sunlight into energy
A recent paper published in PNAS and highlighted by CNN proposes creating islands to produce a liquid fuel (methanol) by recycling atmospheric CO2.
On isothermality in some commonly used plug flow reactors for X-ray based investigations of catalysts
Understand reactor design and characterize their behavior to avoid unwanted sources of error in determining structure function relationships in catalysis.
Article published in Nature Catalysis - view on misconceptions and challenges in methane-to-methanol
Manoj Ravi, PhD student in the van Bokhoven group, warned the community about all the misconceptions and pitfalls he encountered while studying the conversion of methane to methanol and made it into Nature Catalysis!
ESRF Scientific Highlight 2018
Our work on active site structure in mordenite has been featured as one of the Scientific Highlights of 2018 by the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF).
BREAKTHROUGH
Recent advances in electron crystallography rank 5th breakthrough of the year 2018