Nanaocatalysts Market

Catalyst is a substance that helps in the reaction by lowering the activation energy of the reaction but itself remains unchanged at the end of the reaction. Nanocatalysts are the merging of the catalyst technology with nanotechnology. Thus, nanocatalysts can be termed as a substance with catalytic properties that has at least one nanoscale dimension. The nanoscale dimension may be either externally or in its internal structure. The size of the nanoparticle may vary depending on the application but it is usually controlled below 10nm. The porous nanostructure nature of the catalyst increases the surface to volume ratio, hence increasing the catalytic activity of the catalysts. Stability is another important property of nanocatalysts which helps in getting the desired nanoparticle with uniform dispersion on the substrate. Due to effect of temperature and pressure, the melting point of nanocatalysts may drop. This increases the possibility of using the nanocatalysts in liquid phase. Another advantage offered by the nanocatalysts is these can be used for reactions where traditional catalysts cannot fit. Moreover, some nanocatalysts develop partial or net charges which efficiently help in making and breaking chemical bonds.

Nanocatalysis is a rapidly growing field for a variety of homogenous and heterogeneous catalytic applications. In homogenous catalysis, catalysts are usually transitional nanoparticles in colloidal solutions. Heterogeneous metal nanocatalysts are prepared by adsorption of nanoparticles on to supports. Nanomaterials that can be used as catalysts are carbon materials (such as carbon black and graphite), metals and oxides (such as aluminum, iron, and silver), and other (such as clays and quantum dots).

Some of the important applications of nanocatalysts are in biomass, oil, gas, and fossil fuel application, fuel cells, water & wastewater treatment, and pharmaceuticals. With decreasing petroleum reserves, the demand for biodiesel is increasing, especially in countries such as the U.S., Germany, France, Italy and Japan. The current processes of biodiesel production with homogeneous catalysts and heterogeneous catalysts have some shortcomings. Nanocatalysts having higher specific surface and higher catalytic activities solves some of the problems faced by these processes. Researchers have seen that solid base nanocatalysts KF/CaO can be used for producing biodiesel with a yield of 96%. In fuel cell application, nanocatalysts can be used for in-situ hydrogen production with ammonia. Carbon nanomaterials are of tremendous interest in the biological field. These particles can be used for drug-delivery.

The nanocatalysts market is projected to show a significant growth rate in the coming years. The market is currently concentrated in the North American and European region. However, Asia-Pacific is showing the highest growth rate as the refinery and automotive manufacturing capacity of the region is rising. The market is innovation driven and investments are expected for new technology and product development. Some of the major players in this market are BASF, Dow Chemicals, Evonik, Headwaters Inc., Johnson Matthey, Umicore, and Sachtleben Chemie GMPH. Many of these players are partnering with small research focused companies to find out new methods of using nanocatalysts to improvise their existing processes or develop new processes.

The repot estimates the size of the nanocatalysts market in terms of volume and revenue, both regionally and in the end-user industry. The report provides a comprehensive review of the key drivers, challenges, and issues in the market. The market is further segmented and forecasted for key regions, such as Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and RoW. The key players of the industry are profiled in detail with their recent developments and other strategic industry activities. The segmentation by type of nanocatalysts, in terms of volume and revenue for each region, is also discussed in this report.