Powering photoreactions with inductively coupled wireless light emitters (WLEs) located inside the reaction medium

Photocatalytic methods to remove pollutants from air and water as well as the production of solar fuels has been studied for a long time. In recent years, photocatalytic-organic synthesis has also become increasingly popular. However, the industrial implementation of photo-driven processes is very challenging. Especially with high catalyst loadings the penetration depth of the light into the reactor, which usually does not exceed a few micrometers, is a limiting factor. Internal illumination is a promising strategy to overcome the illumination issue.

In this project resonant inductive coupling (RIC) is used to supply energy to power LEDs located inside the reaction medium, so-called Wireless Light Emitters (WLE). This enables efficient internal and nearly homogeneous illumination of various conventional reactor types. A coating of the photocatalyst directly on the WLE allows a simplified handling, comparable to a classical supported heterogeneous catalyst. In particular, the reuse and separation of the catalyst after the reaction is facilitated. In addition, if the coating is thick enough, no light can penetrate into the reaction medium. This enables reactions with highly light-absorbing or light-sensitive compounds.

The WLE will be evaluated for different homogeneous and heterogeneous photocatalytic reactions. Therefore, coatings for the different catalyst materials will be developed and optimized regarding stability and activity. Particularly the influence of the layer thickness and porosity will be investigated and different coating techniques like dip-, spin- and spray-coating of particle or sol-gel systems will be studied.

Further information about WLE can be found here.