Projects
Graphene as a sensing platform for the adsorption and desorption kinetics of gas molecules on few-atom clusters KU Leuven
Few-atom clusters show great promise as catalysts for a number of industrially relevant chemical reactions due to their high reactivity and size-dependent physical properties. To fully exploit their catalytic properties, a detailed understanding of the adsorption and desorption reaction of gas molecules on the clusters is of paramount importance. In this regard, graphene offers interesting possibilities. Graphene, a two-dimensional material ...
Controlled sorption and desorption of poorly water soluble components in nanoparticle bilayers Ghent University
Many active components are poorly water soluble which hampers intravenous use. By sorption of active components into liposomes this problem can be avoided. The final goal of this project is to develop a strategy to control both sorption and desorption. In pharmaceutical applications this is known as controlled release.
Enantioselective adsorption on nanostructured surfaces. KU Leuven
The properties of surfaces can be modified or altered by the adsorption of molecules. While in many cases, such thin films are disordered, forming and controlling two-dimensional (2D) molecular patterns on surfaces has many important implications. Through appropriate manipulation of intermolecular interactions and molecule-substrate interactions one can “encode” the information at the molecular level via structural features such as shape, ...
Rapid Assessment of Multicomponent Diffusion and Adsorption in Nanoporous Materials (RADIAN) KU Leuven
Adsorptive separations by nanoporous materials are major industrial processes. The industrial importance of solid adsorbents is only expected to grow due to the increased focus on carbon dioxide capture technology and energy-efficient separations. To evaluate the performance of an adsorbent and design a separation process, the adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics must be known. Due to the presence of multiple adsorbates in any separation, ...
Biochar based (activated carbon) adsorption for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater Ghent University
Novel IR spectroscopy methods for surface and diffusion characterization of small-pore zeolites using transient probe adsorption KU Leuven
Small-pore zeolites (SPZ) are promising catalysts for CO2 valorization processes and have lately emerged in the cascade transformation of CO2-to-olefins (C2O). Their outstanding activity is attributed to their acid properties, however, the common methods to analyze acidity (pyridine adsorption with FT-IR) cannot apply to SPZ due to steric effects that limits pyridine diffusion into the inner porosity. In this project, we propose novel methods ...
Hydrogen adsorption on metal-doped carbon clusters KU Leuven
Hydrogen is expected to take as energy carrier a central role in the energy transition. The chemical storage of hydrogen in solid materials remains a critical point despite extensive research. Theoretically it is possible to realise high volumetric energy densities and reversible hydrogen charging kinetics in porous carbon materials that contain transition metal (TM) dopants, but there is a lack of fundamental understanding, particularly ...
Rapid evaluation of multicomponent adsorption and diffusion in nanoporous materials KU Leuven
Adsorptive separations by nanoporous materials are major industrial processes. The industrial importance of solid adsorbents is only expected to grow due to the increased focus on carbon dioxide capture technology and energy-efficient separations. To evaluate the performance of an adsorbent and design a separation process, the adsorption thermodynamics and kinetics must be known. Due to the presence of multiple adsorbates in any separation, ...
Recovery of added-value LMW bio-aromatics from lignin containing aqueous liquors via click-in adsorption Ghent University
Lignin represents the most important renewable source for production of LMW bio-aromatics. In this project, the recovery of LMW bio-aromatics from aqueous lignin liquors of the paper and pulp industry and biorefinery is investigated in an economically viable way via click-in adsorption. After selecting the most promising liquors, the selective separation and recovery of LMW bio-aromatics with adsorbents are studied.