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PVcomB

Thin Film Catalysts and Reactors for Sustainable Fuels

The focus of the group lies on the development and characterisation of novel catalysts based on scaleable thin-film technologies for sustainable fuel generation and CO2 utilisation. Characterisation methods include lab-based as well as synchrotron-based methods to study activation, operation and deactivation behaviour of our materials for important reactions to migitate climate change.   Target reactions are CO2/CO hydrogenation to alcohols, Fischer-Tropsch synthesis and dry reforming of methane (DRM). To harvest the full potential of the developed catalysts, tailored reactor concepts are modelled, prototyped and evaluated for performance and long-term stability. Our work is enbedded in a collaborative research and development strategy with industrial partners, universities and research organisations.

Main activities

  • Synthesis of 2D and 3D thin-film catalysts using scaleable deposition technologies on rigid and flexible substrates
  • Development, prototyping and evaluation of tailored reactor concepts and chemical process engineering for thin-film catalysts
  • In-situ and in-operando characterisation of the catalysts using lab- and synchrotron-based methods
  • Screening methods for material discovery
  • Modelling and simulation of device behavior and degradation for accelerated design optimisation

Technologies & methods

 

Preparation:

  • high-temperature, mixed-frequency PECVD cluster tool
  • Magnetron sputter coater for metal(oxides) and alloys
  • Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) system
  • reactive ion etching & deep reactive ion etching tool
  • high-rate electron bem evaporators
  • CW laser annealing system (intert atmosphere and vacuum)

 

Characterisation & Simulation

  • in-situ & in-operando characterisation (GIXRD, XRF, XAS, XPS)
  • thermographic material screening
  • thermocatalytic evaluation
  • multiphysics modelling (CFD, heat-transport, chemical reaction technology)

Collaborations and Projects

  • Care-O-Sene Research for a green future: CARE-O-SENE – Catalyst Research for Sustainable Kerosene (BMBF)
  • CatLab- Catalysis Laboratory Funding: German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
  • Collaborations with TU Berlin and Humboldt University on catalytic evaluation, substrate preparation and material characterisation
  • HZB internal collaboration with the groups of Prof. Marcus Bär (Department of Interface Engineering), Dr. Manuela Klaus (Department Microstructure and Residual Stress Analysis)  and Dr. Dirk Wallacher (Department Sample Environment)

Selected Publications

  1. Gili A., Thum L., Khodabakshi M., Shivam S., Garcia-Diez R., Bär M., Wollgarten M., Schlatmann R., Amkreutz, D., Dynamics of palladium and palladium-gold thin-film catalysts during acetylene semihydrogenation revealed by synchrotron grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, ACS Catalysis under review (2025)
  2. Wei Y., Thum L., Amkreutz D., Schlatmann R., Calnan S., A review on microreactor design for effective Fischer-Tropsch process intensification, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews under review (2024)
  3. Gili A., Kunz M., Gaissmaier D., Jung C., Jacob T., Lunkenbein T., Hetaba W., Dembélé K., Selve S., Schomäcker R., Gurlo A., Bekheet M.F., Discovery and Characterization of a Metastable Cubic Interstitial Nickel-Carbon System with an Expanded Lattice, ACS Nano, 19 (2), pp. 2769 - 2776 (2025), doi: 10.1021/acsnano.4c15300
  4. Li Z., Öztuna E., Skorupska K., Vinogradova O.V., Jamshaid A., Steigert A., Rohner C., Dimitrakopoulou M., Prieto M.J., Kunkel C., Stredansky M., Kube P., Götte M., Dudzinski A.M., Girgsdies F., Wrabetz S., Frandsen W., Blume R., Zeller P., Muske M., Delgado D., Jiang S., Schmidt F.-P., Köhler T., Arztmann M., Efimenko A., Frisch J., Kokumai T.M., Garcia-Diez R., Bär M., Hammud A., Kröhnert J., Trunschke A., Scheurer C., Schmidt T., Lunkenbein T., Amkreutz D., Kuhlenbeck H., Bukas V.J., Knop-Gericke A., Schlatmann R., Reuter K., Cuenya B.R., Schlögl R., Rationally designed laterally-condensed-catalysts deliver robust activity and selectivity for ethylene production in acetylene hydrogenation, Nature Communications , 15(1), 10660 (2024) doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-54784-z
  5. Thum L., Arztmann M., Zizak I., Grüneberger R., Steigert A., Grimm N., Wallacher D., Schlatmann R., Amkreutz D., Gili A., In situ cell for grazing-incidence x-ray diffraction on thin films in thermal catalysis, Review of Scientific Instruments, 95(3), 033904 (2024), doi: 10.1063/5.0179989
  6. Trinh C., Wei Y., Yadav A., Muske M., Grimm N., Li Z., Thum L., Wallacher D., Schlögl R., Skorupska K., Schlatmann R., Amkreutz D., Reactor design for thin film catalyst activity characterization, Chemical Engineering Journal 477, 146926 (2023) doi: 10.1016/j.cej.2023.146926

Patents & Patent applications

Thermocatalysis

  • DE102023112311A1 “Reactor system for chemical reactions, in particular catalyst-assisted chemical reactions, and process for carrying out chemical reactions, in particular catalyst-assisted chemical reactions” (2023)
  • DE1020251042578 “Multi-layer catalyst and process for converting CO2 using the multi-layer catalyst” (2025)
  • DE1020241380373 “Microchannel reactor system for catalyst-assisted chemical reactions” (2024)

Thin-film technology

  • DE102012004314A1: Verfahren zur Herstellung einer dünnen Si-Absorberschicht, Dünnschicht-Silizium-Absorber und seine Verwendung
  • EP000003036756A1/WO002015024559A1/DE102013109163A1: Method for producing polycrystalline silicon layers of uniform thickness provided with 3D-structures / Verfahren zur Herstellung polykristalliner, 3D-Strukturen aufweisender Siliziumschichten homogener Dicke
  • US000010074758B2/WO002015131881A2/DE102014102864A1: Back-contact Si thin-film solar cell/Rückseitenkontaktierte Si-Dünnschicht-Solarzelle
  • DE102018132244A1: Verfahren zur Herstellung von dotierten Halbleiterschichten