Heterogeneous Catalysis Unit
THE UNIT IN 2015
The Unit provides support to researchers at the Institute working on heterogeneous catalysis (gas phase reactions catalysed by solids). Other research lines involving solids characterization, from a chemical and a physical point of view and on-line analysis of gases can also benefit from the Unit. State-of-the-art techniques for catalyst characterization and testing are available to carry out both conventional experiments and advanced applications that are developed in collaboration with the research groups or other research units.
During 2015, the Microactivity, an instrument used for catalytic activity tests that uses a GC to analyse exhaust gases, was used intensively due to an industrial collaboration. After completing this project, the instrument was modified to run pulse chemisorption experiments. Pulse chemisorption experiments are normally run in the TPDRO instrument dedicated to chemical characterisation of solids by gas flow temperature ramp experiments and pulse chemisorption. TPDRO had a high demand during 2015.
We would like to highlight that the activity of the Unit giving support to research groups not dedicated exclusively to heterogeneous calatysis has increased significatively during the last three years.