Topic: Pave the way for improving carbon nanomaterials supported catalysts: learning from natural catalysts

Speaker: Prof. De Chen
         Department of Chemical Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Time: 10:00-12:00 AM., (Wed.) Jul. 9, 2014

Venue: Room 403, Shi Changxu Building, IMR CAS

Abstract:

Catalysis remains a strategic field of chemistry because of its implication in many fields, which include industry, energy, environment, and life sciences. Recent advances in instrumentation, synthesis and reaction studies will permit the molecular/nanoscopic scale characterization of the catalyst systems for similar reactions and the development of molecular-level integration and correlations of three different fields of catalysis: namely enzyme, homogeneous and heterogeneous. Chemists have learned enormously from the natural catalysts for how to distinguish between molecules that are nothing but the mirror images of each other (“enantiomers”). The concept of ligand design in homogeneous catalysis was tremendously successful in this regard. However, many reactions still lack useful asymmetric versions, especially for heterogamous catalysis. In this presentation it will introduce the concept of “ligand effects” in carbon nanomaterials supported catalysts. It will be demonstrated that the properties of carbon nanomaterials, serving as ligands, significantly influenced the activity and selectivity of metal nanoparticles in selective hydrogenation and oxidation. The five important factors to determine the activity and selectivity of carbon nanomaterials supported metal nanoparticles are highlighted: metal identify of metal nanoparticles, surface structure of carbon nanomaterials, structure and surface doping, charge transfer between metal nanoparticles and carbon nanomaterials. Encouraging examples could reveal that there is a continent in front of us which is wide open for basic research and discovery in reactions catalyzed by carbon nanomaterials or their supported catalysts, through addressing molecular/nanoscopic scale studies of active structures and dynamics of the catalysts, achieving rational catalyst design and synthesis.