Surface engineering of low dimensional materials for water purification and CO2 conversion

On Wednesday 22 November 2023, an event entitled "Surface engineering of low dimensional materials for
water purification and CO2 conversion", held by Doctor Damien Voiry (Institut Européen des Membranes), at the Aula Denina of the Politecnico.

Abstract

The utilization of CO2 and securing water resources are two critical challenges. In this context, membranes and electrocatalysis process are promising avenues to reduce the energy footprint, while mitigating carbon dioxide emissions. The conversion of CO2 via electrochemical processes has gained attention as a relevant technology to close the carbon cycle when combined with renewable energy sources. Because multicarbon products possess higher market values and are more energy concentrated, intensive efforts are currently being devoted to improve the reaction selectivity towards the production of C2 and C2+ molecules. In this context, we have developed a novel strategy that employs molecular doping and alloying under supersaturated conditions to enhance the conversion of CO2 to hydrocarbon molecules containing two or more carbon atoms.

Beside catalysis, surface chemistry has proven to play a key role in molecular sieving. Nanolaminated membranes made of restacked 2D nanosheets offer exciting possibilities due to their atomic thickness and confined interlayer spacing, which can lead to enhanced separation performance1. We have developed an original strategy for controlling the interlayer spacing and enhancing the sieving performance of nanolaminate membranes using covalent functionalization of exfoliated molybdenum disulfide nanosheets. In this presentation, will provide an overview of recent progress in the utilization of rationally designed low-dimensional materials with controlled surface properties for the development of novel membranes and their application in electrocatalysis.

Biography

Doctor Damien Voiry graduated from the National School of Chemistry and Physics in Bordeaux and earned his PhD at the Paul Pascal Research Center of the University of Bordeaux in 2010. He conducted postdoctoral research at Rutgers University, focusing on modifying metal chalcogenide nanosheets for electrocatalysis and electronics. Since 2016, he is a CNRS scientist at the Institut Européen des Membranes, Montpellier, researching low dimensional materials for multifunctional membranes for separation and energy applications. He received an ERC grant in 2018 for CO2 reduction from 2D materials, and in 2020, was nominated at the Young Academy of Europe and awarded the CNRS Bronze Medal.