Sustainable Chemistry and Catalysis Engineering (SCCE)

Our research focuses on the sustainable synthesis of chemicals using homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts.

Catalysis is a key-technology, opening energy-efficient and selective pathways to value-added products. This explains why over 90 % of all chemicals have been synthesized by the use of at least one catalyst, be it homogeneous or heterogeneous.

In our group, we investigate catalytic systems of (potential) industrial relevance from different angles, combining:

  • synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts following a variety of approaches and state-of-the-art characterization
  • (in situspectroscopy to learn more about the catalytic transformation (Infrared and Raman)
  • chemical kinetics and reaction engineering (liquid- and gas-phase )
  • description and prediction with theoretical tools

Examples of chemical systems which are currently under investigation include:

  • activation of hydrogen peroxide for sustainable oxidation technology (for example, epoxidations and Baeyer-Villiger reactions)
  • (oxidative) dehydrogenation of small alkanes
  • coupling of small hydrocarbons
  • synthesis of viable platform molecules from biomass (oxidative and reductive upgrading)
  • CO2 hydrogenation