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A3.6 Nanoparticles in Catalysis

Nanoparticles are tiny - between 1 and 100 nanometres in size.
(10-9to 10-7m)\textsf{(10}^\textsf{-9}\textsf{to}\textsf{ 10}^\textsf{-7}\textsf{m)}
Catalytic particles are nearly always nanoparticles and they have a very large surface area per unit mass – so a big surface for a small amount of material.
Using Nano catalysts is expected to decrease the energy consumption in chemical processes and result in a “greener” chemical industry.

Did you know?
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Nano catalysts are becoming increasingly important in a number of fields including:
  • Improving the usefulness of petroleum fractions by removing and converting tar from petroleum into more useful molecules.
  • Removing sulphur from petroleum fractions, especially diesel.
  • The conversion of waste cooking oil into bio-diesel.
  • Improvement of the efficiency of new generation fuel cells.
  • To improve the storage and availability of hydrogen for internal combustion engines.