Homogeneous and Interfacial Catalysis in 3D Controlled Environment

Personnel

Project Leader(s):
Marek Pruski

Principal Investigators:
Andreja Bakac, Marek Pruski, Aaron Sadow, Igor Slowing

Key Scientific Personnel:
Takeshi Kobayashi, Oleg Pestovsky, Javier Vela

Overview

This collaborative research effort is geared toward bringing together the best features of homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis for developing new catalytic principles. Novel silica-based, single-site mesoporous catalysts with controlled, nanostructured morphology and surface properties will be prepared. The control of specific chemical properties, spatial distribution, and concentrations of various catalytic functional groups on the pore walls will be achieved. The catalytic activity of these single-site heterogeneous catalysts will be examined. Detailed mechanistic studies of such systems will be carried out in an effort to recognize the key factors that determine selectivity, reactivity and kinetics of both homogeneous and heterogeneous catalytic reactions.

This research is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Division of Chemical Sciences, Geosciences, and Biosciences through the Ames Laboratory.  The Ames Laboratory is operated for the U.S. Department of Energy by Iowa State University under Contract No. DE-AC02-07CH11358.

Publications