Projects
First principles supported operando catalyst characterization for deep catalysis understanding Ghent University
Operando characterization techniques (DRIFTS, XAS) allow to characterize the catalyst during reaction conditions, but the interpretation of the spectra is often difficult. Therefore, this proposal aims to improve the interpretation of operando spectra by systematically coupling it to first principles simulations and kinetic models. The developed methodology will be applied to 3 interesting reactions in the context of sustainable chemistry.
CO2-to-olefins conversion with bifunctional small-pore catalysts: fed-batch synthesis of hybrid oxide-zeolite catalysts KU Leuven
Functionalized Periodic Mesoporous Organosilicas: Creating new active catalytic sites for Heterogenous Catalysis U+2013 Superacids and Nanoparticles-. Ghent University
The goal of this project is to create stable and active catalytic sites on periodic mesoporous organosilicas and to show the versatility and potential of these materials for a wide variety of catalytic processes. Two types of radical reactions U+2013 U+201Cthiol acid-eneU+201D and U+201CperfluoroalkylationU+201D U+2013 on the double bonds of an ethenylene bridged PMO will be used to incorporate different functionalities.
Solid catalysts for C-H activation in aromatics: from active site design to fabrication of catalyst microspheres KU Leuven
Innovation in medical therapy relies strongly on the availability of high-quality but affordable therapeutic molecules. A structural analysis of recently approved Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), and of (projected) blockbuster drugs in particular, reveals that at least one third of them contains vinylated, arylated or aminated aromatic compounds. Affordable access to complex aromatic molecules is a hot issue in the advanced polymers ...
Sustainable valorization of food wastes into reusable biocarbon catalysts and high value-added chemicals via catalytic hydrothermal treatment Ghent University
This study aims to develop a new resource recovery technology with self-made MOF heterogeneous catalyst to advocate one-step hydrothermal conversion of foodwaste. The solid phase of processed foodwaste will be transformed into highly-porous photochemical-materials for salt water purification; the liquid phase will be recovered as C5-C15 fine chemicals. This new process will pave a way of upcycling foodwaste for circular economy.
Mutational analysis of the glycosylation reactions catalysed by GH-13 Ghent University
Glycosylation can have a profound effect on the biological and physicochemical properties of a molecule. In this project, glycosylation reactions catalysed by GH-13 enzymes will be analysed by the systematic mutagenesis of aminoacids in their active site. Based on the obtained information, the enzymes will subsequently be optimised through enzyme engineering to increase their activity towards non-carbohydrate acceptors.
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Multiscale Analysis and Design of CAtalytic pyrolysis of Plastic waste (MADCAP) Ghent University
Chemical recycling is a crucial step towards a circular economy for plastics while keeping carbon emissions low. Today’s modern sorting facilities typically produce a dozen of different streams from the collected waste. It is expected that this will be the status quo for the coming decade, with polyolefin rich streams being by far the most important. In MADCAP the objective is to recycle these polyolefin waste streams by converting them to ...
Valorisation of a nanoparticle-based catalysis platform. KU Leuven
Concerto for solids and biocatalysts - Cascade biocatalysis and heterogeneous catalysis for fine chemicals production (ConSolid) KU Leuven
Scientific project objectives: 1. To design new solid catalysts for aliphatic amine racemization, and use them for dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) of racemic aliphatic amines to enantiopure amides, preferably in a flow chemistry setting; Progress in comparison with state-of-the-art: there are so far no such racemisation catalysts known, resulting in a lack of methods for synthesis of enantiopure amides from racemic aliphatic amines via DKR. ...