Heterogeneous Catalysts for the Sustainable Production of Hydrogen Peroxide

This project will focus on the utilisation of graphene and carbon nanotubes as catalyst support and promoters. We will focus on powders, and freeze cast foams, and will look to include metal oxides, nanoparticle (np) and np-chains into any macro-formed materials. The carbon materials are produced by Dr Rocha in Engin (Cardiff). The application of these materials may be catalytic, photo catalytic or biological (disinfection) in nature and they will be evaluated catalytically in batch to start but the ultimate aim will be to preform the foam/np hybrid in a reactor tube for use in flow reactors.
We will explore microfluidic systems for the direct synthesis reaction of H2O2 from H2 and O2. Despite previous successes using conventional "macroscale" autoclaves (2 papers in Science and numerous patents), one major challenge is that only dilute H2 (4-5vol%) was used due to safety concerns. This means that the final H2O2 product will be less than 1wt%, which doesn't meet application requirements (i.e. 3-8wt%). Microfluidic reactors can allow safe operation at a much higher H2:O2 volume ratio (e.g. 1:1), meaning that H2O2 can be synthesized with high enough concentration towards industrial applications.

Catalysis is crucially important to the UK economy, with products and services reliant on catalytic processes amounting to 21% of GDP and 15% of all exports. The UK is scientifically strong and internationally recognised in the field, but the science base is fragmented and becoming increasingly specialised. The EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Catalysis will overcome these problems by acting as beacon for excellent postgraduate training in Catalysis and Reaction Engineering with a programme that will develop an advanced knowledge base of traditional and emerging catalysis disciplines, understanding of industry and global contexts, and research and professional skills tailored to the needs of the catalysis researcher.

Although the chemical sector is an immensely successful and important part of the overall UK economy, this sector is not the only end-user of catalysis. Through its training and its research portfolio the Centre will, therefore, impact on a broad range of technologies, processes and markets. It will:
(a) provide UK industry with the underpinning science and the personnel from which to develop and commercially leverage innovative future technologies for the global marketplace;
(b) allow the UK to maintain its position as a world leader in the high-technology area of catalysis and reactor engineering;
(c) consolidate and establish the UK as the centre for catalysis expertise.

Likewise, society will benefit from the human and intellectual resource that the Centre will supply. The skills and technologies that will be developed within the Centre will be highly applicable to the fields of sustainable manufacture, efficient and clean energy generation, and the protection of the environment through the clean-up of air and water - allowing some of the biggest societal challenges to be addressed.