Our research at EPTL centers on innovative solutions for industrial decarbonization, hydrogen production, advanced material synthesis, and carbon dioxide conversion. We focus on designing and optimizing gas-phase processes like flame spray pyrolysis and high-pressure pyrolysis to produce nanoparticles with tailored properties for applications across energy storage, catalysis, and emissions reduction.
Nanoparticle Engineering and Applications: Gas-phase synthesis processes, such as flame and pyrolysis, produce nanoparticles integral to everyday products and advanced technologies. For instance, carbon black—a $17 billion industry—is essential in tires, inks, and batteries, while soot, a similar material, is a major air pollutant. We aim to understand and control nanoparticle characteristics like size distribution, morphology, and chemical composition, which influence both environmental impact and material performance. Our research combines advanced diagnostics and computational modeling to achieve precise control over particle formation, supporting sustainable manufacturing and novel applications.
Research Interests:
•Cogeneration of hydrogen and carbon black from methane pyrolysis: Developing low-emission, high-yield methods for simultaneous hydrogen and carbon black production using methane pyrolysis.
•Carbon dioxide conversion: Designing catalytic processes for converting CO₂ into valuable products through advanced deposition techniques.
•Metal fuel combustion: Investigating the combustion of metal powders like aluminum and iron for clean hydrogen production and material synthesis.
•Decarbonization of primary metal production: Developing processes to reduce the carbon footprint of metal production, collaborating closely with industry to implement sustainable methods.
•Sustainable aviation fuels and emissions characterization: Developing sustainable aviation fuel technologies and methods for rapid emissions characterization to support cleaner air travel.
•Flame spray pyrolysis for nanoparticle synthesis: Using flame spray pyrolysis to fabricate highly porous catalytic films directly on electrodes, optimizing for CO₂ electrolysis and fuel cell applications.
•Gas-phase synthesis of nanoparticles: Developing scalable processes for producing nanoparticles for use in catalysis, energy storage, and environmental applications.
•Optical properties and environmental impact of soot: Measuring and predicting the optical properties of soot particles to assess their role in global warming and improve emissions policies.
Current Research Projects:
1.High-Pressure Pyrolysis for Carbon Black and Hydrogen Cogeneration: Leveraging advanced induction heating and multiscale modeling to optimize high-pressure methane pyrolysis for the cogeneration of high-surface-area carbon black and hydrogen.
2.CO₂ Electrolysis with Flame Spray Pyrolysis-Catalyzed Electrodes: Utilizing flame spray pyrolysis for direct deposition of catalytic films on electrode surfaces, enabling efficient CO₂ electrolysis for sustainable electrofuel production.
3.Metal Fuel Combustion for Clean Energy and Material Recovery: Partnering with primary metal manufacturers to explore aluminum and iron combustion as a source of clean energy and to reduce industrial waste.
4.OmniSoot Platform for Soot Modeling, Emissions Reduction, and Process Design: Developing the open-source OmniSoot software to model soot formation, particle dynamics, and optimize process design for the cogeneration of hydrogen and carbon black from hydrocarbon sources, supporting both industry and academic research.
5.Optical Properties of Carbonaceous Nanoparticles: Conducting detailed studies on the absorption and scattering properties of soot particles, linking these properties to particle morphology and chemical composition to improve climate impact assessments and fire detection technologies.
6.Materials for Chemical Energy Storage: Investigating processes to convert thermal energy into chemical energy using high-temperature gas-phase synthesis, facilitating the storage and transportation of renewable energy in the form of energetic particles.
Our goal is to pioneer sustainable technologies for a low-carbon future, fostering collaboration across academia and industry to translate our findings into impactful solutions.