Electronic level understanding of transition metal based heterojunction catalysis
NANOCAT
Project information
Project duration
-
Funded by
Multiple sources (Spearhead projects of centres for multidisciplinary research)
Project coordinator
University of Oulu
Contact information
Contact person
Project description
NANOCAT project uses modern experimental and modeling methods to resolve the fundamental phenomena related to solar light driven photocatalytic processes for clean energy production and water purification. The information resolved is used in the development of more efficient functional materials leading to more sustainable energy production, cleaner environment and wellbeing of humankind. The work is based on earlier developed functional materials that have shown great promise in terms of efficiency in preliminary experiments. NANOCAT is realized in collaboration with NANOMO and ECE research units combining the experts in fundamental physics with applied research.
Nano and Molecular Systems Research unit is a highly international research environment presently formed by 2 professor3 associate professors (tenure track) and around 40 other researchers. The focus is on molecular scale materials physics and novel applications of spectroscopic and imaging techniques. The research topics include electronic structure research especially in nanomaterials, functional materials (steel, CO2 negative materials, nanocatalytes for sustainability), biomedical research, mesoscopic quantum structures in materials, and physics didactics. The main external funding sources are the European Union ERC, Horizon2020 programs, EU EIT-RawMaterials and ERDF funds, Academy of Finland and other national and international funds. The unit coordinates Finnish national participation in the MAX IV facility, participates in operation of the FinEstBeAMS beamline, and contributes to the European Free Electron Laser Eu-XFEL project.
The Environmental and Chemical Engineering unit at the Faculty of Technology is international and multidisciplinary group bringing together the expertise from inorganic chemistry, environmental engineering, catalysis, CFD-modelling, thermodynamic modeling, sustainability assessment and control engineering from 10 countries around the world. The major research field of ECE focuses on Environmental Catalysis. ECE has excellent track record on catalysis research and related projects (~20 publications/year, 1 M€ external research funding/year). The unit hosts facilities for catalyst preparation and characterization. In addition to conventional preparation methods the unit has two operando-capable research set-ups for the catalyst testing and characterization.