Structures, activities, and mechanisms under the spectroscopes: the quest for unveiling the nature of active sites for highly selective CO2 hydrogenation to methanol

Since the industrial revolution in the 1760s, the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has been rising incessantly driving global warming closer to the point of no return. The world requires urgent actions to not only reduce CO2 emissions but also capture the CO2 for utilization to mitigate the future environmental crisis. CO2 hydrogenation to...

Novel catalysts and applications for polymer electrolyte membrane cells

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolysis represents a promising technology for the sustainable, emission-free hydrogen production from renewable energy, as it is able to quickly respond to fluctuations in the renewable energy supply. Nevertheless, natural scarcity of iridium, which is used as catalyst for the anodic water oxidation...

Deactivation pathways in methane upgrading catalysis

The abundance of methane has led to a strong interest to use methane as a feedstock in the chemical industry. One of the main challenges is the initial activation of the methane molecule. In this thesis, heterogeneous catalysts for two different methane conversion processes are investigated. Firstly, the deactivation of supported Ni catalysts...