Could catalysts be used to put an end to carbon dioxide emissions? That’s the dream Prof. Charlotte Vogt of the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry chases, while solving a decades-old catalysis mystery.
The term catalysis has become synonymous with solutions for climate change at the Technion. Catalysis is responsible for 95% of industrial processes and affects more than one-third of the world’s gross domestic product. It increases the rate of a chemical reaction using a catalyst, which acts as an initiator to get the process going. Understanding how catalysts work is key to creating new ones and tailoring them to our needs. For decades, scientists were stumped by the paradoxical behavior of certain catalysts, until Prof. Vogt and an international team of scientists discovered the explanation.
I believe the key to a greener, more sustainable future lies in better catalysts.
Continuing the legacy of sustainabilityresearch conducted at the GrandTechnion Energy Program
Prof. Vogt, also a member of the Nancy and Stephen Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP), and her colleagues, proved why it is possible for some catalyst nanoparticles to appear “structure insensitive,” or that catalytic activity does not adjust due to the particle size. Using operando spectroscopy and particle accelerators, Prof. Vogt found that catalytic reactions only appear to be structure insensitive, while in actuality, the catalyst nanoparticle undergoes rapid restructuring only leaving specific reactive sites exposed.
Spectroscopy measures the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter; operando spectroscopy uses spectroscopic characterization of materials undergoing reaction, coupled with measurement of catalytic activity.
Imagine turning CO2into useful compounds
According to Prof. Vogt, this discovery has applications that extend far beyond the lab or factory. “I believe the key to a greener, more sustainable future lies in better catalysts,” she said. “Imagine, for example, turning CO2 into useful compounds. It sounds like science fiction. The truth is, such a process is theoretically possible, but it is not yet energy efficient. Right now, it would create more pollution than it would save. If, however we could lower the amount of energy required, or if we were able to finetune the catalyst to make specific products, if we could find catalysts that would make these things easier, suddenly it would become feasible.”
Prof. Vogt, originally from the Netherlands, has led an illustrious scientific career even before turning 30. In 2019, she won the Israel Vacuum Society award for “outstanding early-career achievements;” in 2021, she was on the prestigious Forbes 30 under 30 Europe list, and she also received the Clara Immerwahr Award for promoting equity and excellence in catalysis research. Prof. Vogt opened the Catalysis for Fuels of the Future Laboratory at the Schulich Faculty of Chemistry and joined the Grand Technion Energy Program (GTEP) in March 2021.
Her recent research is just one of the breakthrough energy discoveries to come out of GTEP, which is renowned for encouraging multidisciplinary research into sustainable solutions to the global energy challenge. GTEP solutions encompass development of renewable energy solutions, including methods to enable the effective generation, use and storage of energy.
