FOREST2+

Artículos científicos

• Paesa, M., Almazán, F., Yus, C., Sebastián, V., Arruebo, M., Gandía, L. M., Reinoso, S., Pellejero, I., Mendoza, G., Gold Nanoparticles Capped with a Novel Titanium(IV)-Containing Polyoxomolybdate Cluster: Selective and Enhanced Bactericidal Effect Against Escherichia coli. Small 2023, 2305169. https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202305169
• Ibáñez-de-Garayo, A.; Imizcoz, M.; Maisterra, M.; Almazán, F.; Sanz, D.; Bimbela, F.; Cornejo, A.; Pellejero, I.; Gandía, L.M. The 3D-Printing Fabrication of Multichannel Silicone Microreactors for Catalytic Applications. Catalysts 2023, 13, 157. https://doi.org/10.3390/catal13010157

Comunicaciones en congresos

• Sanz Carrillo, D., Saenz Gamasa, C., Hernández Salueña, B., Pellejero Alcázar, I., Gandía Pascual, L.M. Iluminación homogénea y eficiente de microrreactores mediante el uso de una esfera integradora. Reunión Sociedad Española de Catálisis SECAT’21. Valencia 18-20 octubre 2021.
• Imizcoz, M., Almazán, F-, Rodríguez, R., Echarte, A., Pellejero, I., Gandía, L.M. Bimetallic MOF-derived Catalyst for Photo-thermal CO₂ Hydrogenation to CH₄. 9th International Symposium on Carbon for Catalysis, CarboCat–IX, Zaragoza, June 28-30, 2022.

TFG – Ingeniería Mecánica (UPNA)

• Alejandro Ibañez de Garayo: Diseño y fabricación 3D de componentes para reactores de despolimerización de lignina: batch y continuo (septiembre 2021).

Otras actividades de diseminación

• Noche Europea de los Investigadores y las Investigadoras. 30 de septiembre de 2022. Civican, Pamplona.

The collaborative FOREST2+ project was focused on developing photoactive materials and a photocatalytic CO2 conversion system with the goal of obtaining renewable fuel. The ambitiousness of the goal comes from the great importance of being able to provide clean energy sources by recycling CO2 and mitigating the problems related with pollution and climate change. In that context, the project not only perfectly coincides with the regional research strategies, but with the high priority social challenges of the European H2020 programme. In recent years significant progress has been presented tied to developing photoactive materials, like nanoparticles on semiconductor oxides, perovskites, graphene, MOFs, etc. But it is also necessary to make progress with highly efficient devices that allow suitable contact between the reagents, photocatalyzer and light. For that reason, the FOREST2+ project researched the integral development of the elements that make up an experimental photoreaction system: i) Design multipurpose photocatalyzers for reducing CO2 ii) Optimise solar photoreactors (capturing light, transferring mass, reactivity) and iii) Develop a versatile experimental system that can be used under sunlight.

A multidisciplinary team of members of the consortium was necessary to carry out the project. Different kinds of photocatalyzers based on pure semiconductor oxides (TiO2, CeO2, ZrO2) and with different doping (Ni, Co) were designed by Lurederra. And UPNa-InaMat2 made modifications to the photocatalyzers with metal nanoparticles (Ru), and absorbent materials (Metal Organic Frameworks). Microdevices (microreactors) were fabricated and photoreaction experiments were done. The final goal of the project that was achieved was developing a photocatalytic solar reactor in which the photoconversion of CO2 in continuous operation can be done using H2 to obtain methane using only sunlight as an energy source. Among the intermediate goals that were achieved the following can be highlighted:

• Proving the versatility of Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) technology to produce different nano-oxide compositions (Ni-TiO2, Co-TiO2 and Ce-ZrO2).
• Tuning production parameters and optimising production to obtain the desired properties and characteristics of the nanomaterials.
• Optimising the dispersions with different nano-oxide compositions obtaining good integration of the materials in the corresponding medium, obtaining stable and homogeneous dispersions
• Design a synthesis and activation protocol for the specific porous structure to obtain the physicochemical properties desired for the products, for both MOFs and derived materials, oxides and carbons.

The photocatalytic activity of different metal oxides (both commercial and synthesised by FSP), and the graphitized carbons obtained by pyrolysis of MOFs and untreated MOFs were studied and analysed.

• The potential to industrialise the process to obtain nanoparticles based on mixed oxides with optimum
  properties for CO2 photoconversion, because some of the strong points of FSP have already been shown, like its versatility, reproducibility and scalability
• The creation of a prototype to do photo-thermoinduced reactions under real sunlight

Likewise, during the lifetime of the project the members did several communications activities to make the results of the project known. Two articles have been published so far in which part of the results derive directly from the project.
.- UiO-66 MOF-Derived Ru@ZrO2 Catalysts for Photo-Thermal CO2 Hydrogenation. F Almazán, M Lafuente, A Echarte, M Imizcoz, I Pellejero, LM Gandía. Chemistry 5 (2), 720-729
.- The 3D-Printing Fabrication of Multichannel Silicone Microreactors for Catalytic Applications. A Ibáñez-de-Garayo, M Imizcoz, M Maisterra, F Almazán, D Sanz, F Bimbela, A Cornejo, I Pellejero, LM Gandía…Catalysts 13 (1), 157

Two conferences were also participated in where the results of the project were presented on a poster: Reunión de la Sociedad Española de Catálisis SECAT 2021 Valencia and CARBOCAT 2022 Zaragoza.