The Chair in Nanomaterials for Catalysis focuses on a critical question for the energy transition: how to more efficiently make fuels from industrial processes and waste materials. Based within the Catalysis Institute in the Department of Chemical Engineering, the Chair develops and studies nanoscale materials that can speed up the chemical reactions at the heart of cleaner fuel production. The Chair is a global pioneer in operando gas-phase transmission electron microscopy: a technique that allows scientists to watch catalytic reactions at the atomic scale as they happen.

A major area of focus in the Chair’s work has been improving how fuels are made from synthetic processes and waste streams. One landmark achievement is the development of a new, more efficient method for processing wax byproducts from synthetic fuel production. The process works at normal pressure, making it simpler and more cost-effective than current alternatives, while significantly improving the yield of transportation fuels (including sustainable aviation fuel). A further research stream focuses on the purification of hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells. Underpinning this work is the Chair’s continued transfer of specialised expertise in nanomaterials design and (operando) electron microscopy to South African students, postdocs and junior staff.