Its advantage also lies in a significant reduction of energy costs in technological processes. Foreign investors have already shown interest in the technology, representatives of the university told the Czech News Agency (ČTK) on Tuesday. The development was carried out by scientists from CATRIN and the Centre for Energy and Environmental Technologies (CEET) at VSB – Technical University of Ostrava, in cooperation with international colleagues.
“In the current geopolitical situation and the related energy crisis, the European Union has no other option than to seek ways to reduce the costs of industrial production and to make full use of new green technologies and materials that can free us from dependence on energy and raw material sources from Russia,” said Radek Zbořil, Scientific Director of CATRIN.
The Czech research team, together with colleagues from Greece and Germany, studied the chemical production processes of aniline compounds, which are widely used in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals, plastics, dyes, and agrochemicals. However, their current industrial production is highly energy- and cost-intensive, as it requires high temperatures and pressures, and the acceleration of chemical reactions depends on the use of expensive metals such as gold, palladium, or platinum.
The new technology developed by the researchers utilizes nanoparticles of chalcopyrite, a common mineral composed of iron, copper, and sulfur, which can be found not only in the Czech Republic but also in many locations across Europe, the Americas, and Africa. “The nanomaterial is inexpensive, can be easily produced on an industrial scale, and accelerates chemical reactions more effectively than the mentioned precious metals—plus it works using only sunlight,” Zbořil explained.
The nanomaterial functions as a so-called plasmonic catalyst. This means that in interaction with sunlight, it exhibits a range of unique properties that can efficiently activate chemicals entering industrial production.
“At the same time, the temperature in the immediate vicinity of the nanomaterial increases, which also significantly contributes to the acceleration of the chemical reaction,” added Aristeidis Bakandritsos, who works at both CATRIN and CEET in Ostrava. The work of Radek Zbořil’s team builds on a recent discovery of a catalyst based on iron nanoparticles that showed high efficiency in similar processes related to the production of pharmaceuticals and chemicals.
“We are already in talks with initial industrial users of the technology and potential investors, especially in Germany,” said Zbořil.
However, the new plasmonic material operates on a different principle and, according to Zbořil, has even greater commercial potential due to its significant energy cost savings, record efficiency, and low production cost. “That’s why, before publishing our findings, we decided to protect the technology with an international patent application. It was the right move—we are already in negotiations with potential industrial partners and investors, especially in Germany,” Zbořil concluded.