Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis - ELCAT

The research group Applied Electrochemistry & Catalysis (ELCAT) of professor Tom Breugelmans belongs to the Faculty of Applied Engineering and mainly focuses on electrochemistry. The core research activities within ELCAT are related to the development of state-of-the art electrochemical reactors and catalysts, with a view towards large-scale industrial development in the field of industrial electrification, in a green and sustainable way to ultimately replace the traditional chemical processes. The scope there is to improve controllability, flexibility and energy efficiency of the reactions through electrocatalyst and reactor design. This research can thus be subdivided in three main topics, which are interrelated: 

• Electrocatalysis
• Electrosynthesis
• Electrochemical reactor engineering

From those research topics, two major aspects of the identity as a group clearly come to the surface: industrial application and green chemistry. Up to date, ELCAT mainly focused on the synthesis, characterization and application of supported (bi)metallic nanoparticles for different electrochemical applications with a focus on studying selectivity, activity and stability. It is our hope that by working on the different levels from the (electro)catalyst to the actual reactor, future industrial processes can be based on the environmentally more friendly electrochemical approach, replacing the conventional batch chemical processes.