Porous Materials @ Work for Sustainability

A sustainable development of our society is a central and complex multidisciplinary challenge that concerns the future of our planet. For the necessary innovations, the design of new materials plays a pivotal role. In the context of materials suitable for technological innovation, porous materials have the potential to revolutionize several processes: by controlling their pore size distribution, connectivity, surface functionalization/chemical reactivity, and presence of functional guests, porous materials have demonstrated advantageous functional properties suitable for separation, catalysis, gas storage, pollutant sequestration, drug delivery, and sensing to name a few major applications. In Porous Materials @ Work for Sustainability (PMWS), we contribute to the commitment of TU Graz to sustainable development by creating a consortium of researchers highly interested in porous materials for technological solutions. We decided to capitalize on the know-how developed during our prior Lead Project (Porous Materials @ Work, PMW, phase I) and combine this expertise with the skills and the enthusiasm of new researchers, including early career researchers (ECR). The project is composed of 20 researchers jointly leading 12 sub-projects focused on catalysis, sensing, and material investigation. These connected sub-projects will continue a productive initiative fostering cross-fertilization activities between chemists, physicists, materials scientists, engineers, and biotechnologists. Together, we will work on the development and understanding of new porous materials to address specific sustainability challenges, we will reinforce and expand the international collaborations of TU Graz, and we will organize dedicated educational events to inform/stimulate students and the public. By pursuing these goals, this Lead Project, PMWS, will significantly contribute to supporting TU Graz and Austria in progressing towards the commitments of Agenda 2030 the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).