Research interests and projects

Research interests involve synthesis and assembly of catalysts and functional materials with particular interest in zeolites, mesoporous materials, carbon nanofibers, supported metals and metal oxides, and solid base materials such as hydrotalcites. The work on zeolites comprises generation of mesopores, characterization using electron tomography (3D-TEM) and catalysis. Carbon nanofibers and are investigated for their potential as catalysts support materials. Mesoporous materials (e.g. MCM-41, SBA-15) are used as support materials for fundamental studies on catalyst preparation. Structural investigations on hydrotalcites have enabled us to produce solid base catalysts highly active at ambient conditions in liquid-phase.

The approach in our research is to combine the outcome of several techniques into a unifying picture of the complex nanomaterials that are synthesized. The in-house techniques are a.o. XPS, in situ XRD, IR, physisorption, TPR-TPD-TPO, TGA, SEM and TEM. Special competencies in our department are XAFS (with Dr. Harry Bitter), STEM-EELS (with Prof. Frank de Groot), 3D-TEM (with Dr. Willie Geerts) and advanced microbalance techniques (TEOM).

Catalytic studies involve (hydro-)isomerisation of hydrocarbons, selective hydrogenations, aldol-condensation, synthesis gas conversion (paraffins, olefins and alcohols) and biomass conversions. Nanostructured materials are also studied for hydrogen storage and CO₂ capture.
 

Projects of PhD students

• Roy van den Berg - Highly active and stable methanol synthesis catalysts
• Arjan den Otter - Niobia Supported Cobalt Catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis
• Thomas Eschemann - New stable Co-FT-catalysts on refractory oxides
• Rafael de Lima - Nano-reactors for Catalysis
• Hirsa Maria Torres-Galvis - Direct production of lower olefins from synthesis gas using iron based catalysts
• Yuen Au - Confinement and particle size effect in supported magnesium (transition metal) hydrides for hydrogen storage
• Tamara Eggenhuisen - Fundamental Studies on Preparation of Supported Catalysts: Impregnation and Drying of Ordered Mesoporous Materials
• Jinbao Gao - Nanocomposites for Hydrogen Storage
• Arjen van de Glind - Multifunctional catalysts from layered colloidal particles for biomass upgrading
• Rob Gosselink - Aliphatic olefins from fatty acids
• Tomas van Haasterecht - The Development of Non-noble metal based catalyst system for the production of hydrogen from biofeedstocks by aqueous phase reforming
• Peter Munnik - Effects of Co interparticle distance and Co-alumina interactions in Co/Al₂O₃ catalysts for the Fischer Tropsch synthesis
• Daniel Stellwagen - Solid acid catalysts for transesterification and esterification
• Jovana Zecevic - Structural study of supported Mo(Co)S catalysts by electron tomography

Projects of Post-docs:

• Lucian Roiban
• Selvedin Telalovic - Branched alcohols from (bio) alcohols via the gas phase Guerbet reaction
• Mozaffar Shakeri - Plugged SBA-15 –based Nano-reactors: Development, Characterization and Catalytic Applications
• Anne Mette Frey - Carbon supported Mg- and La-oxides as solid base catalysts
• Gonzalo Prieto - Design and assembly of nanostructured catalysts for the conversion of syngas into alcohols

Past Projects of PhD students and Post-docs:

• Adri van Laak - Process intensification in alkylation processes using zeolite catalysts  with molecular traffic control
• Peter Ngene - Hydrogen storage in Nanoscaffolded Borohydrides
• Mariska Wolters - Fundamental study on the preparation of supported metal (oxide) catalysts: understanding
• Sankara Tatiparti - Magnesium-based hydrogen storage materials and reactors
• Ard Koeken - Nano-structured catalysts for Fischer-Tropsch lower olefins synthesis
• Siswati Lestari - Ethanol from synthesis gas using highly dispersed cobalt catalysts
• Heiner Friedrich - Development and application of electron tomography to heterogeneous catalysts, to unravel the nature and location of the active phase within the support
• Kees Balde - The storage of hydrogen
• Niels Meis - Design of an effective and re-usable absorbent for in situ removal of carbon dioxide from reaction mixtures at high temperatures
• Arjan Plomp - Tuning and understanding the catalytic performance of noble metals on carbon nanofibers
• Jelle Sietsma - Fundamental Study on Catalyst Preparation using Mesoporous Support Materials as Model Support System
• Vendula Gabova - Mordenite synthesis – control of crystal size distribution, synthesis of mesoporous zeolites using carbon nanofibers