Nanostructured Porous Ceramics for Environmental and Energy Applications

The research aims at developing ceramic components with hierarchical porosity and optimized pore architecture, and testing them in applications in the environmental and energy fields. Specifically, additive manufacturing techniques will be employed for the fabrication ofgeopolymer-based scaffolds with high strength and low pressure drop, while preceramic polymers will be used for producing aerogels and foams from the replica of polymeric structures. The surface of the components will be further functionalized by coating with meso-porous materials or compounds possessing specific chemical moieties (e.g. amine or COOH, SO3- groups) both for enhancing CO2 capture and tailor pollutant adsorption. The applications for which these micro-meso-macro-porous ceramics will be tested include: water purification, CO2 capture and catalytic reduction, thermal energy storage, SCR of NOx, catalytic production of synthetic natural gas from CO2 and H2. The project also aims at the training of young researchers (graduate students, post-docs) by fostering their attendance to international conferences, promoting publications in international journals, the organization of a summer school and a symposium, and through secondments among the network laboratories.