Between September and December 2023, Andreas Schuß, a student of the Elite Graduate Program “Advanced Materials and Processes”, conducted a research stay at famous Instituto de Tecnologia Química (ITQ) in Valencia, Spain. His research work focused on the development of novel catalyst for cleaner processes in the chemical industry. During the stay, a new material system was developed and investigated.
Andreas Schuß had the unique chance to work with the excellent team of Dr. Gonzalo Prieto, which is directly funded by the European Union (European Research Council (ERC) Grant Agreement No. 864195) among others. The research stay was carried out at ITQ, which is based at the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and supported by the Spanish government’s Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). The internship was part of the “Additional Qualifications” of the Elite Graduate Program “Advanced Materials and Processes”. The work focused on the development of novel materials as liquid metal catalysts. A porous support material was produced and optimized for this purpose. Indium was introduced into the pores as a matrix metal. Finally, platinum was added to the indium as a catalytically active metal. All steps from the synthesis, the characterization and testing of the materials were carried out directly by Andreas Schuß. Many different, advanced characterization techniques, like XRD, SEM, (S)TEM, TPR and N2-physisorption, were employed during the work. Dr. Gonzalo Prieto and his team of PhD-students and Post-docs supported the work. The work laid an important foundation for further advances in this field.
During the stay many new, personal connections and friendships were formed, which are still active to this day. Outside of the research work at ITQ, Andreas Schuß had the opportunity to get to know Spain, in particular, the city of Valencia and the local culture. The city is a beautiful combination of historic buildings in the city center, the bed of the former Turia River and the futuristic “Ciutat de les Arts i les Ciències” at its end. Overall, the combination of the professional work and the different culture was a rich and important experience. d during the work. Dr. Gonzalo Prieto and his team of PhD-students and Post-docs supported the work. The work laid an important foundation for further advances in this field.
Text: Andreas Schuß, Elite Graduate Program “Advanced Materials and Processes”
