Group of Catalysis for Energy and Environment

Professor Gábor Laurenczy has retired in April 2019, and is now Emeritus Professor of the EPFL. His former group has been dissolved.

Lab Key visual
Hydrogen storage, “green” energy. – High pressure chemistry – up to 2000 bar. – Homogeneous catalysis, hydrogenation.

Most relevant publications and patents

  • Homogeneous Catalysis for Sustainable Hydrogen Storage in Formic Acid and Alcohols, K. Sordakis, C. Tang, L. Vogt, H. Junge, P. J.  Dyson, M. Beller*, G. Laurenczy*,  Chemical Reviews  2018,  118,  372-433.
  • Efficient Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid Using an Iron Catalyst, A. Boddien, D. Mellmann, F. Gaertner, R. Jackstell, H. Junge, P. J.  Dyson, G. Laurenczy*, R. Ludwig*, M. Beller*,  Science,  2011,  333,  1733.
  •  Direct Synthesis of Formic Acid from Carbon Dioxide by Hydrogenation in Acidic Media, S. Moret, P. J. Dyson, G. Laurenczy*,  Nature Communications,  2014,  5,  4017;  doi: 10.1038/ncomms5017.
  • A Well-Defined Iron Catalyst for the Reduction of Bicarbonates and Carbon Dioxide to Formates, Alkyl Formates, and Formamides, C. Federsel, A. Boddien, R. Jackstell, R. Jennerjahn, P. J. Dyson, R. Scopelliti, G. Laurenczy*, M. Beller*; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2010, 49, 9777.
  • Formic acid as hydrogen source – recent developments and future trends, M. Grasemann, G. Laurenczy*, Energy Environ. Sci., 2012,5, 8171.
  •  Hydrogen storage: beyond conventional methods, A. Dalebrook, W. Gan, M. Grasemann, S. Moret, G. Laurenczy*, Chem. Comm., 2013, 49, 8735.
  • EP2767530A1 – Direct carbon dioxide hydrogenation to formic acid in acidic media
  • WO2014134742A1 – Method for producing hydrogen gas from formic acid
  • EP1918247A1 – Hydrogen production from formic acid
  • WO2017093782 – Method for producing methanol from carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas in homogeneously catalyzed reactions and in an aqueous medium

EPFL scientists have completed their solution for transforming hydrogen gas into a less flammable liquid fuel that can be safely stored and transported.

Latest Publications

Mechanistic Study of the N-Formylation of Amines with Carbon Dioxide and Hydrosilanes

M. Hulla; G. Laurenczy; P. J. Dyson 

ACS Catalysis. 2018-11-01. Vol. 8, num. 11, p. 10619-10630. DOI : 10.1021/acscatal.8b03274.

Carbon dioxide to formic acid and to methanol: Homogeneous catalytic ways in aqueous solution at room temperatures

G. Laurenczy 

2018-08-19. 256th National Meeting and Exposition of the American-Chemical-Society (ACS) – Nanoscience, Nanotechnology and Beyond, Boston, MA, Aug 19-23, 2018.

Towards Hydrogen Storage through an Efficient Ruthenium-Catalyzed Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid

Z. Xin; J. Zhang; K. Sordakis; M. Beller; C. Du et al. 

CHEMSUSCHEM. 2018. Vol. 11, num. 13, p. 2077-2082. DOI : 10.1002/cssc.201800408.

Homogeneous Catalytic Formic Acid Dehydrogenation in Aqueous Solution using Ruthenium Arene Phosphine Catalysts

C. Fink; L. Chen; G. Laurenczy 

ZEITSCHRIFT FUR ANORGANISCHE UND ALLGEMEINE CHEMIE. 2018. Vol. 644, num. 14, p. 740-744. DOI : 10.1002/zaac.201800107.

Intricacies of Cation-Anion Combinations in Imidazolium Salt-Catalyzed Cycloaddition of CO2 Into Epoxides

F. D. Bobbink; D. Vasilyev; M. Hulla; S. Chamam; F. Menoud et al. 

ACS Catalysis. 2018. Vol. 8, num. 3, p. 2589-2594. DOI : 10.1021/acscatal.7b04389.

Homogeneous Catalysis for Sustainable Hydrogen Storage in Formic Acid and Alcohols

K. Sordakis; C. Tang; L. K. Vogt; H. Junge; P. J. Dyson et al. 

Chemical Reviews. 2018. Vol. 118, num. 2, p. 372-433. DOI : 10.1021/acs.chemrev.7b00182.

Additive free, room temperature direct homogeneous catalytic carbon dioxide hydrogenation in aqueous solution using an iron(II) phosphine catalyst

M. Montandon-Clerc; G. Laurenczy 

Journal of Catalysis. 2018. Vol. 362, p. 78-84. DOI : 10.1016/j.jcat.2018.03.030.

Towards a frustrated Lewis pair-ionic liquid system

F. G. Perrin; F. D. Bobbink; E. Paunescu; Z. Fei; R. Scopelliti et al. 

Inorganica Chimica Acta. 2018. Vol. 470, p. 270-274. DOI : 10.1016/j.ica.2017.07.045.

Recent progress for reversible homogeneous catalytic hydrogen storage in formic acid and in methanol

N. Onishi; G. Laurenczy; M. Beller; Y. Himeda 

Coordination Chemistry Reviews. 2018. Vol. 373, p. 317-332. DOI : 10.1016/j.ccr.2017.11.021.

Dehydrogenation of Formic Acid over a Homogeneous Ru-TPPTS Catalyst: Unwanted CO Production and Its Successful Removal by PROX

V. Henricks; I. Yuranov; N. Autissier; G. Laurenczy 

Catalysts. 2017. Vol. 7, num. 11, p. 348. DOI : 10.3390/catal7110348.