Meeting the Challenges of Heterogeneous Catalysis Controlled at Atomic Level

Catalysis—the essential technology for accelerating and directing chemical transformation—is the key to realizing environmentally friendly and economical processes for the conversion of fossil energy feedstocks. Catalysis is also the key to developing new technologies for converting alternative feedstocks, such as biomass, carbon dioxide, and water to chemicals and fuels. The two grand challenges of heterogeneous catalysis, understanding mechanisms and dynamics of catalyzed reactions as well as the design and controlled synthesis of catalyst structures, require an atomic and electronic-level understanding of catalysts and catalytic processes. However, due to the structure complexity, especially under reaction conditions (high temperature and pressure), the exact catalytic active site and the molecule-catalyst interaction are extremely difficult to describe. In this presentation, I will discuss the synthesis, characterization, reaction study, and modeling of heterogeneous catalysts precisely synthesized at atomic level (based on metal-organic frameworks and intermetallic compounds), which provide the means for meeting the two grand challenges of heterogeneous catalysis. The synthesis of these heterogeneous catalysts is based on nanoscience and nanotechnology.