PFI:AIR - TT: Robust and Selective Catalysts Based on Organic-Functionalized Delaminated Zeolites

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This PFI:AIR TT project focuses on translating catalyst materials science research discovery within the area of delaminated zeolites to fill society's need for more environmentally friendly and economically efficient production of chemical products. Functionalized delaminated zeolite catalysts are important because they can result in significant savings in energy due to their higher efficiency and longer lifetime, ease of catalyst recovery, and recycling during processing. These catalysts also aim to replace toxic reagents, which can harm the environment when leaked in the case of an accident, with catalysts that are environmentally benign and pose minimal danger of leakage due to their solid nature. All of these reasons ultimately result in cost savings for the production of key chemical intermediates that go into everyday products such as plastic containers, coatings, and paints. The project will result in a proof-of-concept prototype of an organically functionalized delaminated zeolite material, which can function as a robust catalyst for chemical industry. This functionalized delaminated zeolite has the following unique features: resistance to leaching, high activity and selectivity in producing a desired product outcome of a chemical reaction, and long lifetime with minimal deactivation. These features provide cost savings, energy efficiency, and minimal environmental impact, corrosion, and toxicity, when compared to the leading competing industrial catalysts in this market space. This project addresses the following technology gaps as it translates from research discovery toward commercial application. The research specifically develops structure-function relationships involving catalysis on surfaces. An understanding of how heteroatom environment influences catalyst activity and selectivity within the context of delaminated zeolites is provided, which is an emerging area for this new class of robust solid catalysts. The research also investigates catalytic effects of confinement within the context of 2-dimensional layered zeolitic structures, a developing frontier that is distinct conceptually from conventional 3-dimensional confinement within bulk zeolite structures. In addition, personnel involved in this project, graduates and post-docs, will receive innovation and technology translation experiences as part of entrepreneurship activities, and as part of a team that is geared to conduct the work of this proposal and further technology in the area towards commercialization. The project engages industrial partners who are leaders in the production of chemical products, by aiming to synthesize new materials that will better serve their needs by decreasing the cost and environmental impact of such production. These partners will augment research capability by providing testing of new materials under industrially relevant environments, which will be used to guide the technology translation effort from research discovery toward commercial reality.