Project R-16672

Porous metal phosphonates with controlled Lewis-Bronsted acidity balance, hydrophilicity and structure as nextgeneration biorefinery catalysts (Research)

The gradual market penetration of biodiesel is a prime example of how fossil resources can be replaced by biobased alternatives. However, the production of bio-diesel is associated with new waste streams, such as an excess of glycerol. In order to make bio-refinery processes truly competitive with their fossil-based counterparts, it is crucial to minimize these waste streams. A promising solution is the catalytic conversion of glycerol to valuable additive such as solketal. This calls for stable and efficient catalysts, which are resilient towards crude and variable input materials that are typically associated with biomass-based value chains. Porous metal phosphonates show a very high potential for this application due to their tunable acidic surface groups, high porosity and exceptional stability. However, the synthesis of these materials remains challenging, as the fast kinetics between the inorganic framework and the organophosphonate linkers, which are essential to create the porous template, are notoriously hard to control. This research project is dedicated to the fundamental elucidation of the PMP formation mechanisms and their functional properties, aiming for their wider applicability in bio-refinery processes. Eventually, these catalysts could accelerate to the roadmaps in circular chemical building blocks by 2050.

01 October 2026 - 30 September 2030