Titolo: Nanostructured Porous Ceramics for Environmental and Energy Applications
Coordinatore-Principal investigator: Prof. Paolo COLOMBO - UNIVERSITA' DELGI STUDI DI PADOVA - Dipartimento di Ingegneria Industriale
Bando: Prin 2017- Decreto Direttoriale n. 3728 del 27 dicembre2017
Durata: 15/09/2019 - 15/09/2022 (36 mesi)
Budget totale progetto: € 868.290,00
Partner-Unità di ricerca: Università degli Studi di TRENTO, Università degli Studi di TORINO, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Università della CALABRIA, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

Abstract del progetto

The project titled "Nanostructured Porous Ceramics for Environmental and Energy Applications" aims at developing and testing components based on nano-structured porous ceramics for use in the environmental and energy fields. The project combines leading international groups in complementary fields at the University of Padova, Trento, Napoli, Calabria, Torino and at CNR-IRC Napoli.
Components with porosity ranging from nano- to milli-meters will be prepared in the form of: 3D printed scaffolds, foams and aerogels. Depending on the type of application, macro/mesoporous supports will be functionalized by grafting and/or coating with zeolites, mesoporous silica, MOFs, or chemical compounds (e.g. containing amine groups). Addition of low amounts of noble and/or transition metals, depending on the catalytic reaction, will introduce active centers with suitable properties. Accordingly, components with hierarchical porosity (in the micro-, meso- and macro-size range) and tailored functionality will be obtained.
These materials will be tested for: water purification and removal of recalcitrant organic pollutants through adsorption and photo-degradation mechanisms, thermal energy storage, CO2 capture, catalytic reactions for environmental and energetic applications (Selective Catalytic Reduction of NOx at low temperature and production of synthetic natural gas through Sabatier reaction (methanation).
The project fits well within the key priorities of Horizon 2020 addressing crucial goals such as scientific excellence, technological innovation and transfer to industry, and will advance the knowledge in the field of advanced manufacturing techniques for highly porous ceramic structures, their functionalization and their use in selected target applications in the environmental and energy areas, aiming at the development of components with improved properties and performance over existing solutions.