ERC Starting Grant 2021
Nanoparticles for Green Catalysis
In the MITICAT project, Kristina Tschulik’s team studies individual nanoparticles in order to use them as a model for optimized catalysts.
In search of alternatives for precious metal-based catalysts, researchers are hoping to use nanoparticles based on transition metals. In order to design them in the best possible way, it is necessary to analyse their catalytic activity in relation to their properties. In her project "Microfluidic Tuning of Individual Nanoparticles to Understand and Improve Electrocatalysis", Professor Kristina Tschulik therefore sends several hundred nanoparticles to the racetrack: they are to circulate in solution in a circle, with their properties and catalytic activity being measured at individual stations. Modifications can be made between the individual measurements, for example to the size or surface condition of the particles. Thus, Tschulik hopes to find out which characteristics of the particles have a positive effect on catalytic performance. This model could then be used to produce optimized nanoparticles.
