CIALab - Industrial and Environmental Catalysis Laboratory

The Industrial and Environmental Catalysis Laboratory (CIALab – UniCT) conducts advanced research activities in the synthesis, characterization, and application of catalytic materials for environmental and energy applications. The research lines integrate thermal catalysis, photocatalysis (under visible and solar light), and photothermal catalysis approaches, with particular emphasis on sustainable and low-impact processes.

Main Research Topics:

• CO₂ conversion into high value-added products (solar fuels) through thermal, photocatalytic, and photo-assisted processes.
• Hydrogen (H₂) production via water splitting and photoreforming of sustainable organic compounds or waste materials (waste-to-fuel approach).
• Air purification, with specific focus on the removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
• Water treatment and purification from emerging pollutants (pesticides, plastics, pharmaceuticals, dyes, etc.) through different Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs).
• Integrated approaches combining pollutant oxidation/photoreforming and subsequent CO₂ conversion.

Research activities focus on the in-depth analysis of the parameters influencing catalytic reactivity, including kinetics, temperature, activation energy, irradiation source and intensity, optical band gap, surface area and porosity, as well as morphology and crystalline structure of the materials. Catalyst synthesis is carried out using several methodologies, including impregnation on prepared or commercial/industrial supports, deposition–precipitation, chemical precipitation, hydrothermal synthesis, microwave-assisted synthesis, photo-deposition, and photo-precipitation.

The laboratory is equipped with the following features for characterization and catalytic testing:

• Gas chromatograph with Thermal Conductivity Detector (GC-TCD);
• Gas chromatograph with Flame Ionization Detector (GC-FID);
• Quadrupole mass spectrometer;
• UV–Vis spectrophotometer;
• Microwave reactor;
• Muffle furnace and drying oven;
• Autoclaves for hydrothermal synthesis;
• Reactors and solar lamps for photocatalytic and photothermal catalytic tests;
• Thermal camera and solar simulator.

For further information, please contact the responsible faculty members. Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/cia_labunict/