Coupled Catalytic Reactions and Key Technologies for Sustainable Chemical Production

ABSTRACT

Achieving climate neutrality demands a challenging transformation toward an energy- and resource-efficient circular economy. In this context, integrated and energy-efficient CO₂ conversion processes with minimized unit operations are urgently needed to enable the defossilization of chemical reactions.

The sustainable production of chemicals and fuels requires the integration of coupled catalytic reactions across entire value chains, from raw material sourcing via carbon capture to product formation. Future production routes will rely on seamlessly integrated and interconnected diverse technologies, including thermo-, electro-, and biocatalysis. Despite progress in tandem catalysis, the coupling of catalytic reactions remains underexplored due to challenges like incompatible operating conditions, reaction kinetics, or complex catalyst development.

In this seminar, I will focus on key technologies for upgrading CO and CO₂ to value-added products as integral components of modern chemical value chains. Starting with ethanol synthesis through the thermocatalytic conversion of synthesis gas (CO+H₂), I will present a quasi-in-situ methodology to study the dynamics of rhodium-based catalysts under relevant reaction conditions and demonstrate how these insights laid the groundwork for decoupling complex reaction networks using tandem catalysis.

In the second part of the talk, I will address CO₂ conversion by introducing the direct formation of long-chain hydrocarbons using cobalt-based electrocatalysts with a special emphasis on standardization and first-of-its-kind parallel testing capabilities. Throughout the presentation, I will underscore the importance of combining thermo- and electrocatalytic technologies. Finally, I will share my perspectives on current research needs to unlock the potential of coupled technologies and to drive progress in sustainable chemical production.

BIO

Phil Preikschas is a chemist by training, holding a master’s degree from the Technische Universität Berlin. He pursued his PhD studies on heterogeneous catalysis, focusing on nanostructured synthesis of supported catalysts and operando spectroscopy, at BasCat (Berlin), a joint laboratory of the Cluster of Excellence UniCat and BASF SE. He then joined the group of Prof. Javier Pérez-Ramírez at ETH Zurich as a postdoctoral researcher. His research focuses on the production of valuable platform chemicals and fuels from renewable carbon feedstocks, with a particular emphasis on thermo- and electrocatalytic valorization of CO₂.