Catalytic Conversion of CO and CO2

The carbon footprint has caused serious environmental issues. CO and CO2 have the potential to be used as feedstocks for synthesis of sustainable materials and fine chemicals. We are a partner of the BMBF supported Carbon2Chem consortium that focuses on the utilization of steel mill gases as precursors for the production of fine chemicals and sustainable products. We collaborate with an industrial partner and develop high surface area solid catalysts for conversion of carbon monoxide to intermediate building blocks and polymers.

https://www.umsicht.fraunhofer.de/en/strategic-lines-of-research/carbon-cycle.html

We are also interested in catalytic conversion of CO2 in the context of the origins of life. We attempt to mimic the serpentinization process that occurs in the Earth’s crust, which involves hydrolysis and transformation of minerals into catalysts and hydrogen that can be further reacted with CO2 to form hydrocarbons that are essential for the origin of life. With our collaborators, we have been awarded with funding from the initiative "Life?" by the Volkswagen Foundation for five years to explore the catalytic CO2 conversion at extreme conditions.

http://portal.volkswagenstiftung.de/search/projectDetails.do?ref=96724

Selected Publications:

1.    Baehr, A.; Moon, G-H.; Diedenhoven, J.; Kiecherer, J.; Barth, E.; Tüysüz, H. Reactor design and kinetic study on adsorption/desorption of CO and Cl2 for industrial phosgene synthesis, Chem. Ing. Tech. 2018, 90, 1513  
https://doi.org/10.1002/cite.201800016

2.    Preiner, M.; Xavier, J.; Sousa, F.; Zimorski, V.; Neubeck, A.; Lang, Q. S.; Greenwell, C.; Kleinermanns, K.; Tüysüz, H.; McCollom, T.; Holm, N.; Martin, F. W. Serpentinization: connecting ancient metabolism, geochemistry and industrial hydrogenation, Life, 2018, 8, 41  
https://doi.org/10.3390/life8040041

3.    Preiner, M.; Igarashi, K.; Muchowska, K. B.; Yu, M.; Varma, S. J.; Kleinermanns, K.; Nobu, M. K.; Kamagata, Y.; Tüysüz, H*.; Moran, J*.; Martin, W. F*. A hydrogen dependent geochemical analogue of primordial carbon and energy metabolism, Nat. Eco. Evol. 2020, 4, 434
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-1125-6

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