The first project, MENIHR, is led by Franck Tessier (ISCR Rennes, UMR 6226) and involves, on top of Helena Kaper for the LSFC, Benoît Coasne (LiPhy, Grenoble, UMR 5588). Its title: “Transition MEtal NItrides and carbides synthesis from metallic clusters: applications to HeteRogeneous catalysis”.
The second project, CAREME, for “CAtalysis with REcycled MEtals from waste to wealth”, is led by Damien Bourgeois (ICSM, Marcoule, UMR 5257) with Solène Touzé (BRGM), Mickaël Brémaud (Eurecat), Etienne Airiau (Activation), Jean-Luc Rousset (IRCELYON, Lyon, UMR 5256), Frédéric Bihel (LIT Strasbourg, UMR 7200) and Helena Kaper for the lab.
Here are the abstract for both projects:
MENIHR is an ambitious project aiming at developing innovative syntheses leading to nanostructured molybdenum nitrides and carbides using transition metal cluster precursors. Such materials are of interest in heterogeneous catalysis, in particular for the water-gas shift reaction, to replace noble metals listed as critical raw materials. This reaction takes place in low-temperature fuel cells for vehicles. It transforms CO, toxic for the cell membrane, into non-toxic CO2. The use of such a nanoscale precursor allows forming nanostructured compounds at lower temperatures, leading to higher specific surface areas and enhanced catalytic activities. A further part of the project deals with the study of a suitable support material for the nitrides and carbides catalysts as it plays an active role in the catalytic reaction. A link will be also established between the catalytic performances of the molybdenum-based carbides/nitrides and their structural properties trough modelling.
CAREME: Electronic waste appears to be an attractive alternative to natural minerals for the supply of precious metals to western economies. However, its exploitation remains limited, mainly for reasons of scale, due to the high variability of the collected materials. At the same time, the demand for precious metals for chemical applications is increasing, due to their performance in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. In this project, we propose to study efficient catalyst production cycles, directly from electronic waste, without going through the refining phase of precious metals. Such a development requires the control of the other elements contained in the waste (metals, organic, etc.), which can have a negative (or positive!) impact on the properties of use of the prepared catalysts. The aim of the project is to achieve validation in representative environment (TRL 5), a possible basis for future industrial developments.
Congratulations to Helena and her partners!