Chemical research towards ecological transition

Fight against climate change and global warming, or the management of sustainable resources are major challenges that would be impossible to adress without the advances coming from the field of chemistry. These environmental objectives pose a major challenge for the Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) that must be faced through cutting-edge research and the development of technologies for sustainability. Recent success in the call Proyectos Estratégicos Orientados a la Transición Ecológica y a la Transición Digital(link is external) will strengthen CiQUS's commitment to environmental protection, through the research conducted mainly through the areas of functional materials and synthetic technologies.

The aim of these grants is to increase the competitiveness and international leadership of science through research geared towards the ecological and digital transition. All the projects submitted by CiQUS in this call for proposals have been selected. A total of seven projects in ecological transition (and other two as project partners) have been obtained, raising 1.3 million euros for its implementation.

Two of the selected proposals will focus on improving energy storage in batteries, a key area for energy-efficient devices. In the BANZAI project, María Giménez and her group will try to optimise a new electrocatalyst for zinc-air rechargeable batteries, whose prototype will be developed by CIDETEC. The aim of the project is to improve the performance and durability of these batteries, a promising alternative where high-availability, low-cost and safe materials are employed. Pablo del Pino's team is involved in a project (MOFSiAN) to create silicon anodes for lithium-ion batteries in a collaboration with the Institute of Materials of the USC (iMATUS). CiQUS researchers will focus on the design and synthesis of nanomaterials derived from MOFs (Metal-Organic Framework).

Rafael Ramos and Francisco Rivadulla's project (MEMTHERM) also aims to increase energy efficiency, in this case by designing a solid-state thermal memory. Their device employs local electric fields to control the movement of ions in oxides and thus modify its thermal conductivity.

The electronics industry is a sector where exciting developments are emerging, as in the case of bioelectronics. In the ProPEL project, CiQUS principal invetigator Eugenio Vázquez, together with a consortium led by the CIC biomaGUNE, will develop a technological platform based benefits from the conductivity of proteins. CiQUS researchers will be responsible for the design of peptides to make conductive inks to be applied in biocompatible electronic devices and energy storage.

Two other CiQUS proposals will seek to transform greenhouse gases into other valuable feedstocks using light activated reactions. In the LIMEVA project, Martín Fañanás and his group will develop new light-driven catalytic routes to transform methane directly into high value-added products. Their work will explore new, clean and sustainable synthetic pathways, trying to establish the basis for a new technology for methane conversion that is both energy efficient and environmentally friendly. Manuel Nappi's project in ViSGap project will focus on other residual gases, in this case carbon dioxide (CO₂), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂), and the use of visible light or sunlight to convert them into organic feedstocks and biodegradable polymers, without resorting to the use of metals during the process.

The alarming increase in environmental pollution levels has raised the demand for chemical sensors in recent years. The SENSATION project brings together experts from different fields to join efforts in the designing of graphene-based nanomaterials for environmental monitoring and portable sensing applications. Diego Peña´s team will design and synthesize in solution the molecular precursors of the carbon-based materials to be obtained by on-surface synthesis. These materials will be used to obtain new highly sensitive and energy-efficient gas sensors.

Finally, two proposals will tackle another major pollutant, plastic waste. Researcher Manuel Ortuño will focus on the chemical recycling of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) using ionic liquids, an environmentally friendly alternative. The D-FACT project will use advanced computational techniques to access to mechanistic information at atomic-level on the role of these ionic liquids in the different stages of depolymerisation, which could accelerate the discovery of new catalytic systems in this area. The recycling of these materials is central in PETzyme project, where CiQUS researchers in collaboration with the CRETUS Environmental Biotechnology Group will develop an enzymatic technology for PET recycling. José Manuel Martínez-Costas and his team will employ patented technology platform based on the muNS-Mi protein to encapsulate two enzymes of interest (PETase and MHETase) and obtain a nanosphere capable of carrying out the serial reactions for the depolymerisation of PET.

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