Green Chemistry

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CNR-ICCOM carries out research activities in the field of Green Chemistry and Sustainable Processes, in order to support the industry in the development of new process methodologies and to facilitate a transition from a linear to a circular economy model, providing new know-how. and concepts, and developing innovative technologies. These activities include the development of new homogeneous, heterogeneous, heterogenized catalysts for efficient and selective chemical conversions, under different conditions (batch and flow reactions), the use of alternative and sustainable solvents and reagents, the use of renewable raw materials, the reuse of waste or end-of-life materials, and the use of CO₂ as feedstock for chemicals. The unifying goal is to contribute to the decarbonisation of the industrial system and the creation of new green production chains.

The main activities in this thematic area include:

• Development of process technologies with low environmental impact, energy and economic cost, for the production of intermediates and chemical products of industrial interest, in particular:
  • Design of new molecular, heterogeneous, heterogenized and nanostructured catalysts for hydrogenation, dehydrogenation and selective oxidation reactions for processes of industrial interest;
  • Development of innovative materials and processes for electrocatalysis;
  • Metal-free catalytic processes (organocatalysis, including carbon-based materials such as functionalized MWCNT) to reduce process costs and the environmental impact due to the release of exhausted catalysts;
  • Development of bifunctional catalysts for the realization of sequences of one-pot chemical reactions;
  • Catalytic processes and reactors for continuous flow reactions;
  • Development of green solvents for sustainable chemical processes and catalytic processes in water.
• Development of new chemical processes and compounds that use renewable raw materials, primarily deriving from non-edible plant biomass, as substitutes for traditional ones of petrochemical origin;
• Development of efficient and sustainable chemical technologies and catalytic processes (homogeneous, heterogeneous, electrocatalytic and photocatalytic) for the conversion of feedstock such as CO₂, renewable resources and reuse of waste materials;
• Recovery and reuse of critical components and metals from magnetic materials and lithium batteries;
• Theoretical chemistry and computational modeling for the understanding of reaction mechanisms and intermediates of catalytic relevance.