Abstract:
The project aimed to develop porous materials for sustainable energy applications, namely, hydrogen storage, and valorization of biomass to renewable fuels. At the core of the project was a training programme for Africa-based researchers in (i) the exploitation of renewable locally available raw materials; (ii) the use of advanced state-of-the-art techniques for the design and synthesis of porous materials (zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs)) for energy storage; and (iii) the valorization of sustainable low-value feedstock to renewable fuels. We found that compaction of the UiO-66 MOF at high pressure improves volumetric hydrogen storage capacity without any loss in gravimetric uptake, and experimentally demonstrated the temperature-dependent dynamic behaviour of UiO-66, which allowed us to propose an activation temperature of ≤ 150°C for UiO-66. Co-pelletization was used to fabricate UiO-66/nanofibre monoliths as hierarchical porous materials with enhanced usable (i.e. deliverable) hydrogen storage capacity. We clarified the use of naturally occurring kaolin as a source of silica and alumina species for zeolite synthesis. The kaolin-derived zeolite X was successfully used as a catalyst for the transesterification of Jatropha curcas oil (from non-edible biomass) to biodiesel. We also prepared porous composites (i.e. carbon/UiO-66, organoclay/UiO-66 and zeolite/carbon) that were successfully applied in electrochemical sensing.
摘要:
该项目旨在开发用于可持续能源应用的多孔材料,即,储氢,以及生物质向可再生燃料的增值。该项目的核心是针对非洲研究人员的培训计划,内容包括:(i)开发当地可利用的可再生原材料;(ii)使用先进的最新技术设计和合成多孔材料(沸石和金属有机骨架(MOFs)),以储存能量;(iii)将可持续的低价值原料用于可再生燃料。我们发现,在高压下压缩UiO-66MOF可以提高体积储氢能力,而重量吸收没有任何损失。并通过实验证明了UiO-66的温度依赖性动态行为,这使我们能够为UiO-66提出≤150°C的活化温度。共造粒用于将UiO-66/纳米纤维整料制造为具有增强的可用(即可交付)储氢能力的分层多孔材料。我们阐明了使用天然存在的高岭土作为沸石合成的二氧化硅和氧化铝物种的来源。高岭土衍生的沸石X已成功用作麻疯树油(来自非食用生物质)酯交换为生物柴油的催化剂。我们还制备了成功应用于电化学传感的多孔复合材料(即碳/UiO-66,有机粘土/UiO-66和沸石/碳)。