Metal nanoparticles for Eco-responsible processes
Keywords: Nanoparticles, metal, supported nanocatalysts, sustainable catalysis, water
Nanocatalysts, located at the frontier between usual homogeneous complexes and heterogeneous catalysts, preserve the advantages of both systems and constitute unavoidable tools for a ‘green’ future. The research in our group deals with the synthesis of metal nanoparticles of controlled sizes and their applications in polyphasic catalysis. The activities are mainly focused on nanomaterials composed of noble or earth-abundant first row transition metals and/or metal oxides, their organization, distribution and shape control in solution as well as their surface reactivity.
The originality of our chemistry relies on the synthesis of surfactant-stabilized aqueous suspensions of metal nanocatalysts, generally defined as particles between 1 and 10 nm in size which could directly be used in pure biphasic liquid-liquid systems or deposited on inorganic, magnetic and mesoporous supports as well as expanded porous glassy materials.
Our research activities are directed towards applications in polyphasic catalysis. All sustainable catalysts were investigated in a large range of applications such as hydrogenation and/or dehalogenation, C-C coupling in liquid or gas phases.
Aqueous suspensions of metal nanoparticles have been successfully applied for the multigram-scaled upgrading of terpenic renewables. The use of materials based on glass foam doped with our metallic nanoparticles for gas-phase hydrogenation, for the treatment of indoor air via oxidative processes or for the remediation of VOCs from the automotive industry has been currently developed in our laboratory.
Contacts: Audrey Denicourt, Alain Roucoux.
