- Gas chromatographs: MicroGC 990 Agilent
- Mass spectrometer: OmniStar instrument
- TPD/TPR/TPO: Chemstar apparatus with TCD detector
- Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with transmission and diffuse-reflectance (DRIFT) in-situ cells for the study and monitoring of chemical reactions under reaction conditions
- Thermogravimetric (TGA) apparatus for the characterisation of catalysts
- Potentiostat/galvanostat (Autolab) supporting all common electrochemical techniques, including Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS)
- Hydrothermal reactor (Berghof)
- Solar simulators (Hamamatsu and Ossila) and photoreactors
- Muffle and tube furnaces (Carbolite)
The Catalysis and Energy Laboratory at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) focuses on the development, characterization, and testing of catalysts and photocatalysts applied to energy and environmental challenges, with a strong emphasis on technology transfer to the industrial sector, particularly in the field of hydrogen.
Its technological infrastructure enables the complete catalyst development cycle, from synthesis—using conventional, mechanochemical techniques or 3D printing—to evaluation in a variety of reactor types: fixed-bed, batch, photoreactors, membrane reactors, microreactors, and catalytic wall reactors. The laboratory is also equipped with advanced tools for material characterization, such as TGA, EIS, FTIR, TPR/TPO/TPD, and systems for monitoring reactions via mass spectrometry and gas chromatography. Additionally, it has access to top-level scientific instrumentation through the Barcelona Research Center in Multiscale Science and Engineering.
The lab's projects include hydrogen production from various sources, removal of atmospheric pollutants, design of systems for decentralized hydrogen generation, and consumer electronics applications through microstructure functionalization.