In recent years the use of hydrogel nanocomposites as advanced catalysts has attracted increasing attention. Among other advantages, the 3D structure of the hydrogels and the presence of polar functional groups promote an efficient loading and dispersion supported catalysts, providing excellent mass transfer and accessibility of the reagents. Although such an approach has been explored for water purification treatments (i. degradation of organic dyes), few studies are reported on heterogeneous catalytic reactions.

In this project, we want to develop a hydrogel-based nanocomposite to support several metal/oxide heterogeneous catalysts to explore electro- and photo-catalytic hydrogen evolution reactions. Accordingly, the project is going to be carried out as a joint collaboration between the IMEM-BRT group (synthesis and characterization of smart polymeric materials) and NEMEN group (synthesis, characterization and evaluation of heterogeneous catalysts in solid-gas reactions under dynamic operation). More specificall Alginate hydrogels will be used as initial templates to load the metal/oxide heterogeneous catalysts. The loading and dispersion will be characterized from both structural (pore size, stability, swelling ratio, NP size, etc. etc.) and electrochemical (photo-response, charge transfer) points of view for their further optimization. Latterly, the nanocomposites will be tested for the hydrogen production reactions under dynamic conditions at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. In a second phase it is also envisioned to include a conductive polymer (e.g. PEDOT), a thermo-responsive and/or a photo-responsive polymer with the aim to enhance the efficiency of the reaction and explore the potential capabilit of the system as a multi-functional support. Thus, we expect to extend the application of such systems not only for the thermo- and electro-catalytic approaches, but also to explore their use as novel photo-electrodes for more complex reactions.

We look for a Junior Postdoctoral profile. The candidate would be responsible for conducting independent research, developing and implementing technical protocols, analyzing data, presenting their findings to the group leaders and helping to maintain the laboratory. Writing research articles and submission of the manuscripts for publication in high quality scientific journal.