Seznam abstraktů 2025: TECHSCALE WORKSHOP 2025

The isolation of a single graphene sheet transformed the field of nanomaterials and unlocked entirely new research directions. While graphene exhibits extraordinary electronic mobility, mechanical strength, and thermal conductivity, its full potential in sensing, biointerfaces, and catalysis can only be realized through deliberate tailoring of its surface chemistry. Covalent graphene functionalization modulates electronic structure, magnetism, and interfacial behavior, but graphene is difficult to functionalize directly. We bypassed the graphene chemical inert nature by chemistry of fluorographene (FG). FG is readily obtained from commercially available graphite fluoride and reacts under mild and well controlled conditions. This chemistry unlocks a broad library of graphene derivatives that emerge as discrete nanoflakes with well-defined chemical functions.1 These materials already power diverse applications that span supercapacitor electrodes,2,3 Li-ion4 and LiS5 batteries, chemical sensing,6,7 and catalysis.8-11 A representative example is graphene acid,12 which operates as a metal free catalyst for alcohol oxidation with excellent efficiency. These functional single sheet platforms are also ideal anchors for isolated metal species.8 Cyanographene, bearing nitrile groups, captures copper at the level of single atoms in mixed valence states and delivers outstanding activity in dioxygen driven transformations, including oxidative amine coupling and the selective activation of benzylic C-H bonds that lead to valuable pharmaceutical intermediates.10 To further control the coordination environment, we created a graphene support that carries 1,10-phenanthroline-5-amine units; this installs well defined chelating pockets that allow rational and selective placement of transition metals. Building on this platform, copper sites remain atomically dispersed and exhibit strong performance in benchmark cross coupling chemistry.13 FG chemistry transforms an inert sheet into a programmable site, converting graphene into a modular platform for precise single atom control and extending its reach across catalysis, electronics, energy storage, and sensing.
The work was supported from ERDF/ESF project TECHSCALE (No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004587)
www.techscale.cz

Single-atom nanorobotics represent a groundbreaking advancement in the fight against environmental pollution and health challenges. These nanoscale devices are engineered to target critical issues such as the removal of nanoplastics from aquatic environments and the eradication of resilient biofilms that compromise medical treatments and device performance. Leveraging their precise atomic-scale designs, single-atom nanorobots disrupt biofilm structures to enhance therapeutic outcomes and adsorb micro- and nanoplastics to mitigate water pollution.
This discussion explores the innovative architectures and mechanisms of single-atom nanorobots, emphasizing their potential to revolutionize biomedical and environmental fields. Key advancements include their role in delivering highly targeted therapies, boosting antibiotic efficiency, and capturing harmful plastic particles from ecosystems. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of their current capabilities, emerging applications, and the challenges of scaling these technologies for sustainable global impact.

Low-dimensional chemistry is an emerging field in materials science that enables precise control over the dimensionality, structure, and surface functionalization of nanomaterials, while also facilitating the entrapment of single metal species to achieve exceptional properties. These advancements have broad applications in medicine, catalysis, energy, and environmental technologies. In this talk, we will explore specific aspects of 2D graphene chemistry, beginning with fluorographene, which serves as a starting point for synthesizing a diverse range of 2D materials. The exceptional utility of well-defined graphene derivatives, such as graphene acid and cyanographene, will be showcased for developing advanced antimicrobial agents that address bacterial resistance. These findings will be contextualized with the antimicrobial properties of silver nanoparticles, alongside a discussion of bacterial resistance mechanisms against these nanomaterials.
Moving beyond carbon-based systems and nanomedicine, the application of cost-effective Cu/Fe-based catalysts for sustainable chemical technologies will be highlighted. The remarkable properties of pyramidal 0D plasmonic CuFeS2 nanoparticles will be demonstrated in the context of fast and selective nitroarene reduction under visible light. Similarly, the catalytic efficiency of 1D Fe/Fe-O nanowires embedded in a silica matrix will be explored through their application in the hydrogenation of nitriles to amines. Finally, the general strategy for synthesis of single atom catalysts (SACs) with 2D graphene-like and 0D carbon-dot supports will be explored and diverse applications of SACs in organic synthesis will be delivered.
The work was supported from ERDF/ESF project TECHSCALE (No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004587)
www.techscale.cz

Sustainable catalysis can be achieved through the understanding, tuning, and utilization of atomic‑level species stabilized on carefully designed supports. One promising approach involves two‑dimensional (2D) zeolitic materials, engineered with abundant surface silanol groups that provide versatile platforms for immobilizing and stabilizing catalysts at the single‑atom or nanoparticle scale.[1] By coupling advanced synthesis with cutting‑edge structural tools - such as high‑resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy and correlative SEM-AFM imaging - it is possible to achieve precise control over catalyst structure and function.
Here, we demonstrate that downsized palladium catalysts supported on 2D zeolites outperform traditional systems in selective hydrogenation, combining high activity and selectivity with reduced precious‑metal demand.[2] We further present the by‑design incorporation of various metal nanoparticles into zeolite matrices via the novel ADOR approach, which enables the post‑synthetic modification of germanosilicates through controlled disassembly into layered precursors. Building on this concept, we extend the design principle to reactions such as the Tsuji-Trost allylic alkylation - long dominated by homogeneous catalysis - now made feasible with recyclable heterogeneous catalysts. Similarly, defect‑engineering strategies applied to rare‑earth‑modified platinum systems reveal new pathways to tune selectivity in cinnamaldehyde hydrogenation, an industrially important and challenging reaction.
This presentation will illustrate a pipeline that integrates synthesis, advanced characterization, and catalytic applications to deliver the novel scalable and sustainable catalytic technologies.
REFERENCES: [1] A. Li, Y. Zhang, C.J. Heard, K. Gołąbek, X. Ju, J. Čejka, M. Mazur, Encapsulating Metal Nanoparticles into a Layered Zeolite Precursor with Surface Silanol Nests Enhances Sintering Resistance**, Angew. Chemie Int. Ed. 62 (2023) e202213361. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202213361; [2] J. Xie, J. Přech, M. Kubů, M. Mazur, J. Čejka, Subnanometric palladium zeolite catalysts improve selectivity in alkyne semihydrogenation, Catal. Today. 460 (2025) 115479. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2025.115479.

Functional low-dimensional materials with judicious molecular and single-atom engineering may unlock versatile platforms for high-performance electrochemical energy storage and efficient, earth-abundant catalysis. In the first part of the talk I will discuss about how tailored graphene derivatives and organic architectures can push the limits of batteries and supercapacitors with the aid of single metal ions. The second part highlights catalytic applications that exploit materials of such design, which are key to decreasing the energy and environmental footprint of the chemicals industry. An aminoacid-anchored graphene acid organocatalyst outperforms homogeneous acids for solvent-free valorization of waste organics and for biofuel production. Embedding earth abundant transition metal atoms in such graphene derivatives affords redox-switchable mixed-valence catalysts that efficiently drive aerobic oxidative transformations of lower-value molecules to key chemicals for the pharmaceutical and polymer industry. These studies demonstrate how molecularly functionalized materials and metal-carbon seamless architectures can deliver advances in catalysis for low energy organic transformations and electrochemical energy storage technologies.

Over thirty years after their commercialization, lithium-ion batteries remain the most widely adopted cell technology. However, concerns around safety and the growing demand for lithium-based systems have led to challenges in sourcing raw materials and ensuring safe, stable components. This has driven the search for alternative battery chemistries that rely on more abundant resources while offering sustainable, cost-effective, and high-performance energy storage. Zinc-ion batteries are gaining attention as a promising alternative due to their use of inexpensive, widely available materials and water-based electrolytes. Among these, halide-based cathodes stand out for their potential to achieve high energy density through multi-electron transfer redox processes. Nonetheless, halide ion diffusion often accelerates zinc corrosion, which severely limits long-term cycling stability. In this study, we address this challenge by employing a Ni-Ti shape-memory alloy as the zinc anode substrate, leveraging its naturally formed TiO₂ passivating layer to enhance corrosion resistance. The resulting zinc-iodine battery demonstrates exceptional cycling durability, achieving up to 20,000 cycles. The underlying corrosion-resistant mechanisms were clarified using both in-situ and ex-situ spectro-electrochemical characterizations, which contributed dually through Ni-Ti alloy and the preferred crystal orientation of zinc deposition. Furthermore, a flexible pouch-cell prototype was fabricated, showcasing excellent mechanical flexibility and shape programmability activated by temperature, highlighting the system’s potential for next-generation wearable devices.

Cascade reactions are processes in which several consecutive transformation steps take place within a single reaction system without the isolation of intermediates. This strategy significantly enhances the efficiency of synthesis, shortens the number of steps, reduces solvent consumption and waste generation, and simultaneously provides access to complex molecules from simple starting materials. In the last decade, synergistic catalysis has been successfully applied in cascade reactions. Synergistic catalysis is defined as a process in which two catalysts and two catalytic cycles work in concert to form new bond(s). Among other strategies, the beneficial approach involves combining a chiral organocatalyst with an achiral transition-metal complex. The organocatalyst is responsible for asymmetric induction, thereby eliminating the need for expensive and hard-to-obtain chiral ligands. Our goal is the development of synergistically catalyzed cascade reactions, in which enamine/imine activation or Brønsted activation is combined with transition metal catalysis. Next, our goal is to synthesize suitably modified organocatalysts that can be immobilized on a solid support and subsequently used in synergistically catalyzed cascade reactions. The immobilization of organocatalysts allows their easy separation from the reaction mixture and subsequent reuse. This approach reduces their application costs and generally facilitates the study and development of new cascade reactions.

Photocatalysis offers a promising route to diversify future energy sources by directly converting sunlight into hydrogen and other valuable products. Central to achieving high activity and selectivity is the integration of metal-based co-catalysts, which accelerate charge separation, enhance interfacial redox kinetics, and suppress recombination losses. Among them, single-atom co-catalysts (SACs) have emerged as a new frontier: they maximize atom utilization and create unique, well-defined reaction sites that outperform conventional nanoparticles or clusters.
This contribution will highlight our recent advances in SAC-modified photocatalysts based on TiO2, g-C3N4, and perovskite-derived materials, where atomically dispersed metals enabled dual functional action—not only high-efficiency hydrogen production but also selective oxidation of alcohols into value-added products. Particular emphasis will be placed on how isolated atoms tune the electronic structure of the semiconductor, modulate charge-transfer pathways, and provide distinct adsorption and activation sites.
Despite these advantages, important challenges remain, including the long-term stability of SACs, precise control over their coordination environment, and the theoretical description of their mechanistic role in complex photocatalytic reactions. By combining experimental insights with computational modelling, recent studies shed light on how SACs lower activation barriers and direct selectivity in hydrogen evolution, and alcohol oxidation. Together, these results underline the pivotal role of single-atom co-catalysts in advancing the design of next-generation photocatalysts for sustainable hydrogen production and chemical transformations.
The work was supported from ERDF/ESF project TECHSCALE (No. CZ.02.01.01/00/22_008/0004587)
www.techscale.cz