UAntwerpen: Department of Chemistry/ LADCA

General expertise of the research group

The Laboratory of Adsorption and Catalysis (LADCA) is a pioneer in the synthesis and applications of porous materials and metal-oxides in the field of adsorption and catalysis. The research activities in the laboratory of Adsorption and Catalysis are focussed on: – The development of new micro- and mesoporous inorganic materials; – Optimalization of synthesis pathways for inorganic materials with a controlled porosity and surface properties; – Catalytic activation of porous materials; – Optimalization of porous materials for efficient gas- and liquid separations; – Characterization of porous materials; -Catalytic applications (redox – and photocatalysis)

Specific hydrogen- related expertise & research topics

• Design of heterogeneous catalysts for in-situ hydrogen production for sustainable reduction reactions in water (BOF-GOA project in collaboration with the Organic Chemistry group (prof. B. Maes).
• Development of porous materials with tuned properties as matrix for hydrogen clathrate formation (Vlaio Moonshot project on Artificial clathrates for safe storage, transport and delivery of hydrogen (ARCLATH))
• Photocatalytic and photo-electrocatalytic reduction of CO2 with hydrogen into added value chemicals (Vlaio Moonshot D2M and Vlaio Moonshot SYN-CAT projects)

Available equipment/tools:

• Micro-Raman, in-situ Raman
• FT-IR, in-situ FT-IR
• UV-VIS
• TGA/DTG, TGA-MS
• N2-sorption, chemisorption
• TOC
• TPR, TPO
• Photocatalytic set-ups and lamps
• Reactors (photocatalytic, plasma and automotive)
• GC detection

International collaborations:

• UNIPD, Padova, Italy
• NCSRD Athens, Greece
• National Institute of Chemistry, Ljubljana, Slovenia
• University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain
• Technical University Gheorghe Asachi, Iasi, Romania
• ENMIX (European Nanoporous Materials Institute of Excellence aisbl)
• DZA (Dutch zeolite association)

Main relevant publications

1. Suligoj A. Arcon I., Mazaj M., Drazic G., Arcon D., Cool P., Stangar U.L., Tusar N.N., Surface modified titanium dioxide using transition metals: nickels as winning transition metal for solar light photocatalysis, J. Mat. Chem. A, 6 (21), 9882-9892, 2018
2. Xin Q., Papavasiliou A., Boukos N., Glisenti A., Li JPH, Yang Y., Philippopoulos C.J., Poulakis E., Katsaros F.K., Meynen V., Cool P., Preparation of CuO/SBA-15 catalyst by the modified ammonia driven deposition precipitation method with a high thermal stability and an efficient automotive CO and hydrocarbons conversion, Applied Catalysis B- Environmental, 223, 103-115, 2018
3. N. Blommaerts, N. Hoeven, D. Arenas Esteban, R. Campos, M. Mertens, R. Borah, A. Glisenti, K. De Wael, S. Bals, S. Lenaerts, S.W. Verbruggen, P. Cool, Tuning the turnover frequency and selectivity of photocatalytic CO2 reduction to CO and methane using platinum and palladium nanoparticles on Ti-Beta zeolites, Chemical Engineering Journal 410, 128234, 2021
4. R.-G Ciocarlan, N. Hoeven, E. Irtem, V. Van Acker, M. Mertens, E.M. Seftel, T. Breugelmans, P. Cool, Ferrite@TiO2-nanocomposites as Z-scheme photocatalysts for CO2 conversion: Insight into the correlation of the Co-Zn metal composition and the catalytic activity, Journal of CO2 Utilization, 36,
   177-186, 2020
5. Y. Uytdenhouwen, V. Meynen, P. Cool, A. Bogaerts, The potential use of core-shell structured spheres in a packed-bed DBD plasma reactor for CO2 conversion, Catalysts, 10, 5, 2020, DOI:10.3390/catal10050530
6. A. Gupta, G. V. Baron, P. Perreault, S. Lenaerts, R.-G. Ciocarlan, P. Cool, P. G.M. Milea, S. Rogge, V. Van Speybroeck, G. Watson, P. Van Der Voort, M. Houlleberghs, E. Breynaert, J. Martens, J. F.M. Denayer, Hydrogen clathrates: next generation hydrogen storage materials, Energy Storage Materials 41, 69-107, 2021.
7. N. B. Kummamuru, G. Watson, R.-G. Ciocarlan, S.W. Verbruggen, P. Cool, P. Van Der Voort, P. Perreault, Accelerated methane storage in clathrate hydrates using mesoporous (Organo-) silica materials, Fuel 354, 129403, 2023.
8. E.J. Beckwée, M. Houlleberghs, R-G Ciocarlan, C.V. Chandran, S. Radhakrishnan, L. Hanssens, P. Cool, J. Martens, E. Breynaert, G.V. Baron, J.F.M. Denayer, Structure I methane hydrate confined in C8-grafted SBA-15: A highly efficient storage system enabling ultrafast methane loading and unloading,
   Applied Energy 353, 122120, 2024.