CARINHYPH

Bottom-up fabrication of nano carbon-inorganic hybrid materials for photocatalytic hydrogen production

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 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'CARINHYPH projects deals with the hierarchical assembly of functional nanomaterials into novel nanocarbon-inorganic hybrid structures for energy generation by photocatalyic hydrogen production, with Carbon NanoTubes (CNTs) and graphene the choice of nanocarbons. The scientific activities include the development of new functionalisation strategies targeted at improving charge transfer in hybrids and therefore their photocatalytic activity, and in transferring these synergistic effects by assembling the hybrid units into macroscopic structures.

Three different types of hybrid architectures will be explored: Hybrid 1 – consisting of inorganic gyroids impregnated with the nanocarbon; Hybrid 2 – consisting of nanocarbon membranes coated with the inorganic compound by atomic layer deposition; Hybrid 3 - electrospun hybrid fibres.

CARINHYPH specifically aims to tailor interfacial charge and energy transfer processes by means of chemical functionalisation and evaluate them with photochemical and transient spectroscopy, as well as explore the effect of the nanocarbon as a substrate and heat sink, which stabilises smaller semiconductor particles and reduces agglomeration that will result in larger accessible surface areas.

Two industrial partners in the consortium, a nanocarbon supplier and a potential end user, guarantee that both ends of the production line are taken into account for the development of new technologies and the production of a roadmap for industrial deployment. This roadmap will also measure sustainability of processes and materials developed in this project in terms of environmental and economical impact as compared to state-of-the-art techniques for the production of hydrogen by the use of adequate Life Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approaches.'

Introduzione (Teaser)

With the development of clean energy sources as one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century, the use of sunlight to drive catalytic reactions, and particularly hydrogen production from water splitting, has emerged as a promising route. This project takes advantage of the large library of nanomaterials to produce new hybrids with enhanced properties that result in higher photocatalytic efficiency.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Nature often provides the inspiration for scientific endeavours. Utilising the sun's light in artificial photosynthetic devices to produce molecular hydrogen (H2) for use in H2 fuel cells is the subject of much research. Photocatalytic systems split water molecules into H2 and oxygen. Novel materials with greater efficiency and stability at lower costs are required.

Scientists are exploring hybrid nanomaterials made of nano-structured carbon and inorganic semiconductors with EU support of the project http://www.carinhyph.eu/ (CARINHYPH). The team has taken high quality carbon nanotubes and graphene and functionalised them for subsequent integration with the inorganic via in-situ growth in different architectures: nanocarbon membranes coated with the inorganic, mesoporous gyroid hybrids and electrospun structures.

A key aspect of the project is the emphasis on interfacial engineering as a mechanism to control charge transfer processes between the hybrids, thus increase charge lifetime and photocatalytic efficiency. The project has made progress in optimising synthetic routes to achieve. Cutting-edge spectroscopy techniques have provided a unique insight into the electronic properties at the nanocarbon/inorganic semiconductor junction, providing elements to adjust the synthetic routes accordingly.

The CARINHYPH team comprises companies at the two ends of the supply chain. Thomas Swan Ltd. is a fine chemicals company that produces high-quality carbon nanotubes and graphene in industrial quantities. INAEL is an SME in the field of advanced inorganic materials. In order to increase the potential of industrial implementation of the materials a roadmap for industrial deployment is being prepared. It includes Life-Cycle Costing (LCC) and Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) to ensure sustainability.

In the short-term, CARINHYPH is contributing to the rational design and synthesis of new nanostructured hybrids with improved catalytic performance in sustainable energy applications, such as water splitting, water purification, photoelectrochemistry and photovoltaic devices. In the long term, these nanostructured hybrid systems will contribute to solving the EU energy challenges.