Complex Hydrides: from the Hydrogen Cycle to the Carbon Cycle
Abstract
Fossil fuels consumption is not expected to decrease significantly in the next decade, driving the atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration upward. Some solutions exist to decarbonize our energy such as the hydrogen cycle and the carbon cycle. Complex hydrides are a class of compounds composed of an anionic complex made of hydrogen covalently bound to a central atom (B, N, Al) and a cation such as lithium, sodium, or magnesium. They are mainly known as reducing agents in organic and inorganic chemistry. This talk is a summary on the benefits and drawbacks of the hydrogen cycle and the carbon cycle and how complex hydrides can potentially revolutionize both cycles thanks to their properties.
Bio
Born in 1992, Sion, Switzerland. In 2017, Loris Lombardo graduated M.S degree in Molecular and Biological Chemistry from Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. During this time, he focused on catalysis for CO2 reduction, water splitting, and biomass conversion. In 2021, he received Ph.D. at the Institut of Sciences and Chemical Engineering, EPFL, in the group of Prof. Andreas Züttel, working on borohydride reactivity. He then moved to Kyoto University, in the group of Prof. Satoshi Horike to pursue post-doctoral research on coordination polymers synthesis from CO2 until 2024. He is currently a scientist back at EPFL focusing on materials for hydrogen storage, and CO2 capture and utilization.