Turning Waste into Value: Catalytic Upcycling of Consumer Plastics for Carbon Capture
PhD Defence, Friday 28th of November 2025, Ruth Ebenbauer
During her PhD studies, Ruth Ebenbauer developed strategies for the catalytic modification of polymers into CO2 sorbents for carbon capture technologies. The CO2 adsorbing properties in these novel materials were established via catalytic amine-functionalisation and demonstrated on the consumer plastics polystyrene and polyacrylonitrile. In addition, Ruth Ebenbauer contributed to studies on the electrocarboxylation of aryl electrophiles for carbon isotope labelling, as well as dual-function materials, and polymer-modified CO2 reduction catalysts.
The research findings contribute to the understanding of CO2 adsorption in amine-functionalised polymeric materials and how to develop CO2 sorbents from abundant feedstocks in line with circular economy principles.
The PhD study was completed at the Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and the Novo Nordisk Foundation CO2 Research Center (CORC), Faculty of Natural Sciences, Aarhus University.
This summary was prepared by the PhD student.
Time: Friday, 28th of November 2025 at 13:15
Place: Building 1514, room 213, Auditorium I, Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Langelandsgade 140, 8000 Aarhus
Title of PhD thesis: Catalytic Upcycling of Polymers into CO2 Sorbents and Transition Metal-Catalysed CO2 Conversion
Contact information: Ruth Ebenbauer, e-mail: ree@inano.au.dk, tel.: +45 55237915
Members of the assessment committee:
Professor Arjan Kleij, Institut Català d’Investigació Química (ICIQ), Spain
Associate Professor Jiwoong Lee, Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
Professor Jan Skov Pedersen (chair), Department of Chemistry and Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University, Denmark
Main supervisor: Professor Troels Skrydstrup, Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO) and Department of Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Language: The PhD dissertation will be defended in English
The defence is public.
The PhD thesis is available for reading at the Graduate School of Natural Sciences/GSNS, Ny Munkegade 120, building 1521, 8000 Aarhus C