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Trash to treasure: recovery of transition metal phosphates for (electro-)catalytical applications
(2022)
Wastewaters containing high concentrations of NH4+, PO43- and transition metals are environmentally harmful and toxic pollutants. At the same time phosphorous and transition metals constitute valuable resources. Here, we report the synthesis routes for Co- and Ni-struvites (NH4MPO4∙6H2O, M = Ni2+, Co2+) out of aqueous solutions resembling synthetic/industrial waste water compositions, and allowing for P, ammonia and metal co-precipitation. Furthermore, the as-obtained struvites were further up-cycled. When heated, these transition metal phosphates (TMPs) demonstrate significant changes in the degree of crystallinity/coordination environment involving a high amount of amorphous phases and importantly develop mesoporosity (Figure 1). In this regard, amorphous and mesoporous TMPs are known to be highly promising (electro-)catalysts.
Amorphous phases do not represent a simple “disordered” crystal but more a complex system with a broad range of compositions and physicochemical properties, which remain mostly unknown. Consequently, we investigated the recrystallization and amorphization process during thermal treatment and a resolved the complex amorphous/crystalline structures (Figure 2). As a proof-of-principle for their applicational use, the as-obtained TMPs demonstrate significant proton conductivity properties similar to apatite-like structures from room to high temperatures (>800°C).
Hence, we have developed a promising recycling route in which environmental harmful contaminants like PO43-, NH4+ and 3d metals would be extracted out of waste waters in the form of precursor raw materials. These raw materials can be then further up-cycled through a simple thermal treatment for their specific application in electrocatalysis.
Crystalline molecular materials are usually brittle and are prone to break into pieces upon external mechanical force. This fragility poses challenges for their application in next-generation technologies, including sensors, synthetic tissues, and advanced opto-electronics. The recent discovery of mechanical flexibility in single crystals of molecular materials has solved this issue and enable the design of smart flexible device technologies. Plastic crystals can be deformed permanently. This behavior is based on anisotropic molecular arrangements and the existence of facile slip planes which allow a permanent motion within the lattice. In contrast, elastic crystals can be deformed, but regain the original structure when the force is removed. This phenomenon is related to energetically isotropic molecular packing. Here we report 4-bromo-6-[(6-chlorolpyridin-2-ylimino)methyl]phenol (BCMPMP) as a promising candidate for future waveguide technologies. It turns out that BCMPMP has two different polymorphs with distinct optical and mechanical properties. Form I crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group Pca21 and shows brittle behavior. This structure exhibit very weak emission at 605 nm (λex = 425 nm) together with a low fluorescence quantum yield (Φ = 0.4 %). On the other hand, form II (monoclinic space group P21/c) has a large plastic regime and a bright emission at 585 nm (λex = 425 nm; Φ = 8.7 %). Based on its improved mechanical and optical properties, form II was explored as a bendable optical waveguide. Light was successfully propagated through a straight-shaped and mechanically deformed BCMPMP crystal. Depending on the light source, active or passive waveguiding could be achieved. So BCMPMP can also be used as a flexible wavelength filter.
High entropy alloys (HEAs) are considered as a new class of alloys containing at least 5 elements with concentrations between 5 and 35 atomic percent. There has been a growing interest in HEAs in the material research field in recent years. Due to their adjustable composition, which enables the modifications of mechanical properties (such as hardness, strength and ductility etc) and their stability at high temperatures, HEAs have been the focus of various studies.
Especially the corrosion behavior of HEAs has been a wide research interest. Since the grazing exit X-ray fluorescence (GEXRF) offers a non-destructive way to collect notable information regarding the high temperature oxidation, we consider it as a useful method to investigate how HEAs behave in corrosive environments.
The main idea of grazing geometry is to enhance the fluorescence signal of the surface. This enables highly sensitive surface analyses of thin protective film on surface in sub-micrometer scale. Position-sensitive area detectors provide information regarding the signal emitted from the sample as a function of emission angle and thus allow depth-sensitive analysis. Furthermore, the data collected from samples of an incidence energy which lays within a specific energy range provides XANES data to determine oxidation states. Moreover, since GEXRF profiles can also be simulated through physical models (Urbach 1999), they enable us to determine the layer thickness of a given sample in a non-destructive way.
In this contribution, we present the preliminary results of a conceptual study regarding layer properties of CrCoNi medium entropy alloy. The successful implementation of such methodological concept will pave the way for the investigation of more complex alloys with multiple layers, which is planned for the later phases of the project.
Use of the solvent-free mechanochemical method for a sustainable preparation of pharmaceuticals
(2023)
With the growing interest in environmental issues on the part of governments and institutions, pharmaceutical industries are asked to reduce their environmental footprint. Given the major impact related to the use of solvents, the development of methodologies less solvent demanding is nowadays even more urgent. In light of that, mechanochemistry would be a suitable solvent-free technology since it promotes the activation of the chemical reactions between (generally) solid materials via inputs of mechanical energy. Since such reactions may occur outside the kinetic and thermodynamic rules of conventional solution chemistry, the main limit of mechanochemistry is the poor mechanistic understanding of the solid-state transformations involved, which is still hindering a widespread use of the method, as well a scale-up to the industrial level. However, the development of methods for real-time monitoring of the mechanochemical reactions enables obtaining (in)accessible information on reaction intermediates, new products, or reaction time, thus getting closer to a better understanding of the mechanistic behaviour. With the rules of this chemistry becoming increasingly clear, the new reaction pathways of mechanochemistry wouldn’t represent a limit anymore, but an asset, that may lead to lot of opportunities for the pharmaceutical industry.
Zirconium chloro fluoride as catalyst for C-F bond activation and HF transfer of fluoroalkanes
(2023)
In this work, we successfully synthesized amorphous zirconium chloro fluoride (ZCF), which exhibits medium lewis acidity. In addition to investigating the local coordination sphere around the Zr atoms and the material properties, we were able to establish a catalytic behavior of ZCF in C-F bond activation reactions. We present a heterogeneous catalyst that performs dehydrofluorination of a fluoroalkane and consecutive hydrofluorination of an alkyne at room temperature.