Nano Design meets Organic Chemistry for Greener Catalysts is the name of the research program led by Maria Messing, funded by the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research. This is the summary of the project:
One of the seventeen sustainable development goals is concerned with sustainable consumption and production. Production of chemicals is responsible for 35 % of the worlds GDP and the most sustainable way of synthesizing chemicals is by heterogeneous catalysis. Heterogeneous catalysts are typically developed using a trial-and-error approach and consist of active metal nanoparticles on an oxide support. Heterogeneous catalysts are stable and have high recyclability but not always the same desired selectivity that can be obtained with homogeneous catalysts.
The search for new catalysts with the combined properties of the homogeneous and heterogeneous catalyst has therefore gained attention in the past years, and the focus has mainly been on tailoring the properties of the catalytically active particles. The purpose of this research program is to combine nanoscale processing and organic chemistry to develop new types of rationally designed catalysts, where properties of both the catalytically active particles and the support are tailored. The designed catalysts will be evaluated for partial hydrogenation of alkynes, one of the most important industrial processes conducted on large scales for production of materials, binders, fragrances, and food supplements. To further rationally tailor the properties of the designed catalysts the knowledge of the atomic scale mechanisms behind the reactions will be increased by following the reactions in situ with ambient pressure XPS.
