National Science Centre announced the list of applications qualified for financing in OPUS 28 competition, within the LAP track, that is projects comprising cooperation with research teams from Austria, Belgium-Flanders, Czech Republic and Switzerland.
Among 17 OPUS 28+LAP/Weave projects realized in Polish-Czech binary cooperation there are six research proposals in the field of science and technology, including the project Investigating the mechanisms and efficiency of green hydrogen formation as a by-product of the photoreduction of carbon dioxide in the aqueous and gas phases, that will be realized under the management of Ewelina Kusiak-Nejman PhD, Associate Professor from the Department of Inorganic Chemical Technology end Environmental Engineering WTiICh (Faculty of Chemical Technology and Engineering). The grant will be 1 575 020 PLN.
The PhotoH2 project concept is a proposal to answer the question of how to combat growing inequality in carbon dioxide emissions through small 'scientific' steps, being at the same time consistent with the principles of the circular economy and the policies of chemical compound recovery, clean technologies, and CO2 capture and processing.
The primary objective of the project will be to determine the potential for using photocatalytic water decomposition reactions to produce green hydrogen as a side reaction accompanying the photoreduction of CO2 in the liquid or in the gas phase. The efficiency of this process will be increased through the use of innovative photocatalysts based on modified titanium dioxide deposited on a porous carbon carrier. The modification of the photocatalyst with the simultaneous application of thin layers of TiO2 onto the substrate will be carried out with the use of a reactive magnetron sputtering system.
Thanks to cooperation with the team of prof. Kamila Kočí from VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, apart from conducting hydrogen generation reaction, accompanying CO2 photoreduction in the gas phase (with a small amount of water), in which the Polish team specializes, it will be possible to extend the research to the water phase (in which, in turn, the Czech team specializes) and to carry out a more detailed characterization of the obtained materials.
Also for young researchers and post-doc scientists the project will be an opportunity to develop their skills and extend their knowledge in international environment, among other options during research internships in both partner institutions.
Photo: Agnieszka Wanag/WTiICh
