New Perspectives in Science Education
Catalysis for Sustainability: (Electro)Catalytic and Electrosynthetic Processes for Science Education
Christoph Weidmann, Georg-August-University Göttingen (Germany)
Felix Maiwald, Department of Chemistry Education, Georg-August-University Göttingen Germany (Germany)
Philipp Lanfermann, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen (Germany)
Thomas Waitz, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry, Department of Chemistry Education (Germany)
Abstract
Our society is currently facing increasing challenges regarding sustainable production, use of resources and the clean and efficient supply of energy. The scientific community is addressing these issues in various ways, ranging from fundamental research to applied sciences and engineering. However, these efforts are often not sufficiently visible for and communicated to the interested public.
Therefore, this contribution will present concepts for science outreach activities applicable for the formal and non-formal educational sector, addressing students and teachers as well as the interested public. In particular, we present our recent development of experiments and displays for science fairs emphasizing the important role of catalysis for the value added and process chain in chemical industry. Since renewable power sources are increasing their share to the energy available on the grid, this concept will also be extended to electrocatalysis and the use of electrical power to induce synthetic processes. By using electrochemically in-situ generated reagents as well as electrical energy to drive chemical processes, the industry could directly benefit from the ongoing transition of the energy sector from fossil fuels to renewable sources. We consider these efforts important to be communicated in science outreach activities and projects in order to illustrate potential ways to promote a sustainable economy.
We will present hands-on experiments for the electrocatalytic removal of hazardous substances in waste water (symbolized by harmless dyes as a model system) as well as the electropolymerization of Aniline derivates more appropriate for students than Aniline itself. One essential part of our work is consisting of school experiments comparing conventional and electro-induced reactions qualitatively in science education to arouse interest for the importance of electrical energy for propagating renewables to commercial processes.
Keywords: Catalysis, Electrocatalysis, Education of Sustainable Development.
