Nanoparticle Chemistry
Our research group has 15 years of experience in the design and manufacture of inorganic functional nanomaterials. Within our application-driven approach, we employ nanoparticle production and modification to achieve precise control over material properties. Our deep understanding enables us to modify and optimize the performance of our materials for applications ranging from heterogeneous catalysis to energy storage.
Contact: Prof. Robert Grass
We have developed numerous innovative inorganic functional nanomaterials for various industries. Our past research has led to the creation of spin-off companies such as external page avantama, which specializes in the production of highly uniform nanoparticles for use in electronics, and external page hemotune, which leverages our expertise in magnetic nanomaterials to develop novel medical devices for blood purification. Additionally, we have developed external page TurboBeads, a highly effective magnetic separation technology for use in bioprocessing and diagnostics.
Contact: Konstantin Engel and Patrik Willi
We employ well-established technologies, including Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP) and surface engineering, to develop advanced inorganic functional nanomaterials. Liquid-fed FSP is a versatile technology that allows us to produce thermally stable nanoparticles under thermodynamic control, with easily adjustable compositions and proven scalability. Our setup allows for rapid iteration and optimization of our materials at high production rates. Using surface engineering, we can further modify and functionalize our nanoparticles to prepare semi-heterogeneous supports for protecting groups, reagents, transition metal complexes, and organocatalysts.
Contact: Konstantin Engel and Patrik Willi
Within external page NCCR Catalysis, we currently focus on the on-demand manufacture of nanomaterials for interdisciplinary collaborations. Leveraging our expertise in Flame Spray Pyrolysis and surface chemistry, we develop a materials discovery platform that can deliver samples within days. We deliver comparable and reproducible materials for a range of applications in heterogeneous catalysis and material sciences. This approach aims to avoid late dropouts in scale-up processes.
Publications
- Pinheiro Araújo, T., Morales-Vidal, J., Zou, T., García-Muelas, R., Willi, P. O., Engel, K. M., Safonova, O. V., Faust, D., Krumeich, F., Grass, R. N., Mondelli, C., López, N., Pérez-Ramírez, J., Flame Spray Pyrolysis as a Synthesis Platform to Assess Metal Promotion in In2O3-Catalyzed CO2 Hydrogenation. Adv. Energy Mater. 2022, 12, 2103707. external page https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202103707
- Zhang SBXY, Pessemesse Q, Lätsch L, Engel KM, Stark WJ, van Bavel AP, et al. Role and Dynamics of Transition Metal Carbides in Methane Coupling. ChemRxiv. Cambridge: Cambridge Open Engage; 2022; This content is a preprint and has not been peer-reviewed. external page https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-33391-w
- Pinheiro Araújo, T., Mondelli, C., Agrachev, M. et al. Flame-made ternary Pd-In2O3-ZrO2 catalyst with enhanced oxygen vacancy generation for CO2 hydrogenation to methanol. Nat Commun 13, 5610 (2022). external page https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2022-0q8rj
- Pinheiro Araújo, T., Morales-Vidal, J., Zou, T., Agrachev, M., Verstraeten, S., Willi, P. O., Grass, R. N., Jeschke, G., Mitchell, S., López, N., Pérez-Ramírez, J., Design of Flame-Made ZnZrOx Catalysts for Sustainable Methanol Synthesis from CO2. Adv. Energy Mater. 2023, 2204122. external page https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.202204122