Overview

Catalysis is the heart of chemistry – most chemical reactions need catalysts – so we want to make these reactions efficient and the process as sustainable as possible. Turning to the Sun as an energy source to activate catalysts is an obvious place to focus our investigations because it reduces our reliance on unsustainable fossil fuels. There are a number of means in utilising the sun’s energy to drive energetically demanding catalytic processes. We can use:

• electricity from photovoltaic transformation of sunlight to drive electro-catalytic reactions (electrocatalysis)
• heat of the sun to activate thermal catalyst (thermal catalysis) and,
• light of the sun to excite electrons from valence band of a semiconductor to its conduction band (photo catalysis)

This talk will present the Clean Energy Medal 2023 to Prof. Amal and their ongoing research in harnessing the full solar energy spectrum (from ultraviolet to infra-red) to induce or/and enhance catalytic CO2 and NOx reduction. Using solar energy to catalytically reduce CO2 and NOx has the potential to convert the waste CO2 and NOx into fuel and feedstocks, allowing the dual opportunity to store the intermittent renewable energy as well as closing the anthropogenic carbon and NOx cycle.

Speaker

Rose Amal, Scientia Professor, University of New South Wales

Rose is the Director of the Particles and Catalysis Research Lab (PARTCAT) and a Co-Director for the ARC Industrial Training Centre for the Global Hydrogen Economy (GlobH2E). She is the Network Lead for the Power Fuels including Hydrogen Network for the NSW Decarbonisation Hub. She is the former Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Functional Nanomaterials.

Rose is a Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales, Sydney. She is recognised as a pioneer and authority in fine particle technology, photocatalysis and functional nanomaterials. Her research spans across specialised photochemistry, material science and nano-research.

The material presented in this webinar has not been peer-reviewed. Any opinions are the presenter's own and do not necessarily represent those of IChemE or the Clean Energy Special Interest Group. The information is given in good faith but without any liability on the part of IChemE.

Webinar archive

This webinar is free of charge and open to all to attend, but if you wish to access the slides and a recording to replay on demand then you will need to be a member of the Clean Energy Special Interest Group.