ir. Niels De Witte
Biography
Research
Zeolites have a widespread use in modern chemical industry. The confined spaces in these microporous materials, allowing manipulation on molecular scale, are at the basis of a large variety of chemical processes, including separations. The success of zeolitic adsorptive separations can be linked to their high regenerability, allowing reuse.
My work is part of a joint FWO junior research project in collaboration with KUL, entitled “Controlling Al-distribution in small-pore zeolites: Impact on adsorption and cyclic separation”. In this project, zeolites with tailored Al-distribution will be obtained via innovative synthesis protocols and probed with both classic and new methods, for their adsorption properties and ability to separate mixtures, also in realistic (less idealized) conditions by exploring new (generic) study techniques. Charting the unexplored impact of the Al-distribution on adsorption properties will yield insights into the fundamentals of confined space adsorption, of great importance for molecular separation and catalytic applications.
Location
Pleinlaan 2
1050 Brussels
Belgium