TÜBİTAK Bilateral Cooperation Program to Support Innovative Catalyst Project for Low-Cost Environmental Protection

The project, led by Prof. Dr. Duygu Ağaoğulları, a faculty member at the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Istanbul Technical University (ITU), has been awarded funding under the “2502 - Research Projects - Bilateral Cooperation Program with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).” The project highlights a sustainable and innovative mechanochemistry approach in the preparation of advanced materials.

The project, led by Prof. Dr. Duygu Ağaoğulları, a faculty member at our Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, and known by its acronym HENTOX – High Entropy Oxide Nanocatalysts, is titled “Green and Sustainable Synthesis of Durable High Entropy Oxide Nanocatalysts for Highly Efficient Environmental Protection.”

The project received funding under the TÜBİTAK Bilateral Cooperation Support Programs, specifically under Program 2502 – Research Projects – Bilateral Cooperation Program with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS).

Prof. Dr. Zara Cherkezova-Zheleva from the Institute of Catalysis at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences serves as the project coordinator on the Bulgarian side.

Researchers from Türkiye participating in the project:

From Istanbul Technical University (ITU):

Res. Asst. Dr. Sıddıka Mertdinç Ülküseven and Res. Asst. İlayda Süzer Çiçek from the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sinan Kutluay from the Department of Chemical Engineering; Prof. Dr. Tuğba Ölmez Hancı and Res. Asst. Nergis Dilsizoğlu Akyol from the Department of Environmental Engineering

From outside ITU:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nazlı Akçamlı Kaya (from the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at Bursa Technical University)

Researchers from Bulgaria participating in the project:

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hristo Kolev, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Daniela Paneva, Dr. Bozhidar Grahovski, Dr. Zlatka Geshkova, Engineer Maria Sabeva, Anna Vasileva, and Kaloyan Ivanov (from the Institute of Catalysis, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)

About the project

High-entropy materials in the form of oxides, carbides, silicides, borides, and silicates are innovative materials that have recently been studied as nanocomposites with superior properties for numerous advanced applications, particularly in the context of environmental protection and sustainability. However, there is only a limited number of studies on the application of high-entropy oxides (HEOs) as catalysts for environmental protection reactions and clean energy production. By combining multiple cations within a host lattice, catalytic activity, adsorption capacity, and thermal stability can be enhanced or tailored. It has been found that HEOs exhibit superior properties compared to each individual component, enabling improved resource efficiency—specifically, reducing the consumption of critical raw materials (CRMs) typically used in the preparation of catalysts (platinum group metals, rare earth elements, etc.). The integration of low-cost metal oxides into HEO synthesis aligns with sustainable resource management strategies, ensuring the conservation of primary rare or limited resources and the stability of supply chains. This has motivated two research teams to investigate the development of environmentally friendly preparation methodologies for HEOs using economical and easy-to-implement synthesis methods.

The main focus of the proposed project is the preparation of HEOs, consisting of five components in the form of (Ce/Cu/Fe/Ti/Mn/V/Ni/Si/Al/Zn/Cr/Co)Ox, from economical raw materials using a mechanochemical process. Mechanochemistry is an innovative methodology that has proven its efficiency and sustainability in the preparation of advanced materials. In the context of sustainability and green chemistry, mechanochemistry offers high reaction efficiency with zero or minimal solvent consumption, low energy consumption, and simple equipment. In 2019, IUPAC recognized the method as one of the methodologies that will revolutionize the field of chemistry toward a sustainable future. The catalytic properties of the synthesized advanced nano-structured HEO materials, recognized as durable advanced ceramic materials, will be investigated in significant environmental protection reactions. Mechano-chemistry will serve as the primary method for the synthesis and activation of catalysts, alongside complementary techniques being explored to enhance efficiency and reduce environmental impact. Additionally, combinations of different preparation techniques for the synthesis and processing of materials with mechanochemical activation will be utilized. The synthesized advanced materials will be evaluated for their expected adsorption, photocatalytic, and catalytic properties. Thus, the synthesized materials will be tested for the catalytic decomposition of various gaseous pollutants (VOCs, CO, etc.) as well as for their photocatalytic activity. The degradation of various organic wastewater pollutants (e.g., azo dyes, pharmaceuticals, etc.) will be investigated to determine the catalytic reaction mechanism and predict catalyst activity across a wide range of reaction conditions.

We congratulate the project leader, Prof. Dr. Duygu Ağaoğulları, as well as our faculty members and the team from Türkiye and Bulgaria, and wish them continued success.

Our academic collaborates on projects across three countries

With the support of this project, the number of ongoing projects led by our faculty member, Prof. Dr. Duygu Ağaoğulları, under the TÜBİTAK Bilateral Cooperation Programs has reached three. Bulgaria has now been added to the list of countries involved in the research collaboration, joining Romania and Azerbaijan.

“Novel 2D MXene-Based Nanocomposites Doped with Magnetic Dual Metal Oxide@Graphene for Spectroelectrochemical Sensing of Pharmaceuticals” - 2569 - Supported by the TÜBİTAK-Romanian Ministry of Research, Innovation, and Digitalization (MCID) Bilateral Cooperation Program. Click here for more details about the project.

“Nanoenhanced Bioremediation of Oil Spills in Seawater and Soil using Microorganism Loaded Core-Shell Magnetic Nanoparticles” - 2542 - Bilateral Cooperation Program with the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS). Click here for more details about the project.