BiNANO  
Bi-metallic nanoclusters for catalytic biomass upgrade: investigating model systems at the atomic scale
PRIN: RESEARCH PROJECTS OF RELEVANT NATIONAL INTEREST – 2022 Call
  active project [2023-2023]
Project Leader: Dott.ssa Letizia SAVIO (letizia.savio@cnr.it)

•Controlling size, composition and interaction with the substrate of bimetallic nanoclusters (bNCs) is mandatory to tune their peculiar structural, electronic and catalytic properties and to optimize the use of expensive and/or rare metals.

•BiNANO studies the physical and chemical properties of model system consisting of supported bNCs useful for the conversion of biomasses: 

•Ultra-small Pt-Zn, Ru-Cu and Cu-Pt bNCs supported on MgO or graphene will be grown and characterized from the structural, electronic and chemical point of view.

•Their reactivity will be tested towards very simple reactants (e.g. ethylene glycol and benzaldehyde) containing some of the functional groups (OH, C=O) involved in the dehydration and hydrodeoxygenation processes applied to biomasses.

•We will provide a detailed description of the structure-activity relationships of these systems from a chemical-physics point of view.

IMEM-CNR coordinates the project and is in charge of the growth protocol and structural characterization of the bNCs.

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RESEARCH units involved:

•Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto dei Materiali per l’Elettronica e il Magnetismo (CNR-IMEM, Genova)
•Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca, Dip. Scienze dei Materiali
•Università degli Studi di Genova, Dip. Fisica (Genova)

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Financed by European Union – Next Generation EU

NextGenerationEU