h1

  Copyright: © Daniel Ditz

Research

In view of the social development of recent years and the increasing depletion of fossil raw materials, the use of sustainable resources and renewable energy is becoming increasingly important. Here, on the one hand, lignocellulosic biomass is considered one of the most attractive alternative carbon sources, as it is already widely available today and would allow for a sustainable circular economy. On the other hand, solar energy as the largest regenerative energy source is continuously getting more attention in research and development. In this respect, photocatalytic approaches offer the possibility to combine both aspects by using (sun)light directly for the chemical transformation of biogenic resources without prior energy conversion. This would create a fully sustainable value chain. However, the performance of a photocatalyst depends on many material properties that have to be optimised for each application. Therefore, the aim of my project is to develop photocatalysts as a key element for a solar biorefinery.

Covalent triazine-based frameworks (CTFs) provide the ideal basis for this because of their adjustable material properties. The aim is to analyse the influences of the molecular composition and the structuring of the material on the physicochemical and optoelectronic properties to understand the effects on activity and selectivity in the photoredox catalysis of biogenic substrates. For this purpose, the materials are systematically varied with respect to the choice of monomer, the synthesis route and a possible metal loading. The change in absorbance, redox potentials, charge separation and charge transport, as well as polarity, stability and structuring are characterised. The oxidation of 5 hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to 2,5 diformylfuran and 2,5 furandicarboxylic acid is currently the focus of the project as a model reaction.

Research internships focusing on the synthesis, characterization or application of CTFs in photo-oxidations are readily available.