报告题目：Electrochemical exploitation of biomass

报告人：Dr. Allessandro Lavacchi,

Institute of Chemistry of the Organometallic Compounds of the Italian National Research Council (CNR)

报告时间：由于报告人行程有延迟，具体时间待定。

报告地点：武汉大学工学部新9教2楼环境工程系会议室

Electrochemical exploitation of biomass

The selective conversion/production of chemicals from renewable resources with contemporaneous production of energy is perhaps one of the most desirable targets in sustainable chemistry. The realization of such processes will provide energy with no overall CO2 emission and at the same time lead to the production of industrially relevant feedstocks. Indeed, starting from biomass, a large variety of products such as aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids can be obtained. Recent results have shown that direct fuel cells can be effectively employed to convert alcohols into various oxygenates, providing at the same time good power densities, exploiting the ability of certain anode electrocatalysts to bring about the partial oxidation of the anolyte with high selectivity and fast kinetics. Biomass derived products have also been employed as sacrificial agents in electrolysis, avoiding oxygen evolution reaction and leading to cogeneration of hydrogen and valuable chemicals. This approach has resulted in a net energy savings for hydrogen production as compared to conventional electrolytic water splitting.

The present lecture will describe the state of the art and perspective of the electrochemical exploitation of biomass derived products devoting special emphasis to the following aspects: 1)The importance of electrochemical conversion of biomass;2)Material issues and electrode and catalyst fabrication;3)Electrochemical kinetics and selectivity issues;4)Basic concepts for the energy life cycle analysis of described process;5)Thinking outside of the box: an attempt to establish new connections

Dr. Lavacchi’s CV

Dr. Alessandro Lavacchi is a staff researcher at the Institute of Chemistry of the Organometallic Compounds of the Italian National Research Council (CNR). He received his Ph.D. in Material Science and Technology from the University of Firenze in 2003.

From the early beginning his research has been devoted to energy related material science. His activity has led to the co-authorship of more than 50 papers in leading international journals and one monographs about the exploitation of nanotechnology in electrocatalysis (1)

In the latest years he has committed himself to the development of novel materials for the exploitation of biomass in electrochemical devices (2, 3). He has contributed to the development of “facile” methods for the synthesis of platinum-free electrocatalysts for application in fuel cells, electrolyzers and raw chemical synthesis(4). In this context he has demonstrated the effectiveness of electrochemical reforming as a convenient method for the production of hydrogen and chemicals (5). His research interests also span over photovoltaics where he works for the development of novel PV devices relying on the use of earth abundant and non-toxic materials only (6).

At present he cover the role of Chief Editor of “Coatings” an international journal devoted to the material science and application of deposited materials.

Selected recent publications

1. A. Lavacchi, H. Miller, F. Vizza, Nanotechnology in electrocatalysis for energy. Nanostructure Science and Technology, pp. xiii, 331 pages. Springer, New York (2014).

2. V. Bambagioni et al., Self-Sustainable Production of Hydrogen, Chemicals, and Energy from Renewable Alcohols by Electrocatalysis. Chemsuschem 3, 851 (2010).

3. A. Marchionni et al., Electrooxidation of Ethylene Glycol and Glycerol on Pd-(Ni-Zn)/C Anodes in Direct Alcohol Fuel Cells. Chemsuschem 6, 518 (2013).

4. Y.-X. Chen et al., Electrochemical Milling and Faceting: Size Reduction and Catalytic Activation of Palladium Nanoparticles. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 51, 8500 (2012).

5. Y. X. Chen et al., Nanotechnology makes biomass electrolysis more energy efficient than water electrolysis. Nature Communications 5, 4036 (2014)