Collaborative Research: I/UCRC Phase I: The Center for Rational Catalyst Synthesis

催化是能源、化学和环境工业的核心，是一门隐藏但影响力很大的科学。 催化剂可能在汽车催化转化器中最为人所知，但相同类型的催化过程也适用于汽油，纺织品和化肥等商品化学品以及药品等特种化学品。 据估计，在化学工业中，催化剂占所有产品的95%以上（按体积计），占增加值的80%以上。 约占世界的三分之一。的经济性直接或间接地取决于催化作用。 尽管它们具有巨大的重要性，但新的多相催化剂的开发在很大程度上仍然是经验性的，也就是说，耗时且昂贵，特别是在合成阶段。 催化的一个重大挑战正是？催化结构的设计和控制合成。我们的基础研究将催化剂合成从一门艺术转变为一门科学，这将为石油，化工和制药公司以及催化剂制造商开发新催化剂节省大量的时间和精力。 经过优化的催化剂能够以最高效、最经济、最环保的方式实现化学转化，从而减少原材料使用、能源需求和温室气体排放。的第一个也是唯一的研究中心，重点是了解催化剂合成的化学基础。CeRCaS将为南卡罗来纳州大学和弗吉尼亚联邦大学带来强大的互补专业知识。我们的工业合作伙伴将帮助我们选择和完善的研究项目有三个方面，第一，金属沉积的基础知识，包括金属沉积机制的原位观察和各种纳米颗粒生成方法，第二，固-固结合的热力学和动力学，将通过理论和实验进行探索，以预测金属氧化物在载体表面上的润湿或烧结，和尺寸、形状的预测，以及在双金属的情况下，负载的纳米颗粒的组成，以及第三，用于特定反应的精确位点合成，其中纳米颗粒将以特定的尺寸、含量（单金属或多金属）和形态合成，并且因此针对特定的催化反应进行优化或使昂贵的贵金属的含量最小化。 研究生将接受类似于NSF工程研究中心的实用思维方式的指导。 这种工业倾向将源于两个来源;第一，内部，从VCU？的网站总监（古普顿）和南加州大学？的副主任（Monnier）谁冰雹从杰出的研究事业在工业，第二，外部，从工业研究的直接参与个别研究项目。 教育推广将包括征聘代表性不足的群体并最终安排他们就业。 这两所大学都有大量的妇女和少数民族可以与之合作。

Catalysis is a hidden but high impact science at the heart of the energy, chemical and environmental industries. Catalysts are perhaps best known in automobile catalytic converters, but the same types of catalytic processes are responsible for commodity chemicals such as gasoline, textiles, and fertilizer and specialty chemicals such as pharmaceuticals. It has been estimated that catalysis accounts for over 95% (by volume) of all products and over 80% of added value in the chemical industry. About one third of the world?s economy depends directly or indirectly on catalysis. In spite of their immense importance, the development of new heterogeneous catalysts is still largely empirical, which is to say, time-consuming and expensive, particularly at the stage of synthesis. A grand challenge of catalysis is precisely the ?design and controlled synthesis of catalytic structures.? Our fundamental research in transforming catalyst synthesis from an art to a science will save tremendous amounts of time and energy in the development of new catalysts for petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical companies as well as catalyst manufacturers. Optimized catalysts allow chemical conversions to be achieved in the most efficient, economical, and environmentally responsible manner, reducing raw material usage, energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions.The Center for Rational Catalyst Synthesis (CeRCaS) will be the world?s first and only research center with the focus on understanding the chemical fundamentals of catalyst synthesis. CeRCaS will bring to bear powerful, complementary expertise at the University of South Carolina and Virginia Commonwealth University. The research projects which our industrial partners will help us select and refine are in three thrusts, first, The Fundamentals of Metal Deposition including in-situ observation of metal deposition mechanisms and a variety of methods for nanoparticle genesis, second, Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Solid-Solid Bonding, to be explored with theory and experiment to allow prediction of the wetting or sintering of metal oxides on support surfaces, and prediction of the size, shape and, in the case of bimetallics, composition of supported nanoparticles, and third, Precision Site Synthesis for Specific Reactions, in which nanoparticles will be synthesized with specific size, content (single or multi-metals) and morphology and so be optimized for particular catalytic reactions or to minimize the content of expensive precious metals. Graduate students will be mentored with the practical mindset akin to an NSF Engineering Research Center. This industrial bent will stem from two sources; first, internally, from VCU?s site Director (Gupton) and USC?s Deputy Director (Monnier) who hail from distinguished research careers in industry, and second, externally, from direct involvement of industrial research in individual research projects. Educational outreach will include the recruitment and eventual industrial placement of underrepresented groups. Both Universities have significant pools of women and minorities with whom to work.