The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $400,000 Project Grant under the Engineering program (CFDA 47.041) to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The grant aims to develop a sustainable electrochemical recycling method for recovering and reusing important industrial catalysts, particularly palladium-based catalysts used in manufacturing chemicals, solar panels, and pharmaceuticals. The 3-year project will pursue parallel efforts to: (i) design nanostructured electrosorbents to selectively recover homogeneous catalysts, (ii) investigate the nanoscale charge-transfer and binding mechanisms of catalysts at electrode surfaces, and (iii) develop multiscale models to optimize the design of a flow-through sorption cell for catalyst recovery. This interdisciplinary project combines the University's expertise in electrochemical separations and polymer design with the collaborating University of Chemistry and Technology Prague's knowledge of electrochemical engineering and interfacial electrochemistry. The project has the potential to enable the use of previously uneconomical reactions, driving innovation and economic growth, while also contributing to global decarbonization efforts by substituting conventional thermal and chemical separation methods with electrochemical processes.
Generated 3/4/25, 3:55 AM