Collaborative Research: GOALI: Identifying the roles of atomically dispersed Rh, support interactions, and environmental conditions in automotive NO reduction catalysis

多相催化在保持环境清洁方面起着至关重要的作用。例如，汽车中的催化转化器通过将废气成分转化为危害较小的气体，显著降低了运输部门对环境的影响。自20世纪70年代以来，洛杉矶盆地等地的空气质量大幅改善，突显了多相催化对日常生活的巨大影响。开发更有效的催化过程和设计新的催化材料的关键是了解催化剂的原子结构与其功能之间的关系。预计在该研究项目中获得的见解将提供必要的信息，以指导更有效的催化剂的设计，从而提高催化转化器的性能和效率。为了促进这个研究项目提供的独特的教育机会，来自加州大学圣巴巴拉分校和佛罗里达大学的研究生将访问福特汽车公司在迪尔伯恩的研究和创新中心，MI每年夏天三个月，继续作为访问学者的研究。本科生将参与研究项目，并将通过课堂模块从主题中学习。三效催化剂是催化转化器的主要组成部分，可同时将污染物氧化和还原为危害较小的物质。 在三效催化剂的活性位点处的典型金属是铂（Pt）、钯（Pd）和铑（Rh）。虽然Pt和Pd通常促进氧化反应，但Rh在商业催化剂中起着至关重要的作用，因为它能够将一氧化二氮（NO）还原为二氮（N2）。 尽管其在商业上的重要性，但在相关的汽车工作条件下，Rh活性位点上的NO还原机制在很大程度上仍然是难以捉摸的。在这个项目中，学术研究人员将与工业合作伙伴进行交流，以获得对原子分散的Rh物种在商业三效催化剂中的作用的关键机理见解。严格的比较NO还原化学的性能和机制，在现实条件下原子分散的Rh和Rh簇，作为环境条件和支持组合物的函数，将作出。研究方法将结合联合收割机动力学研究，原位红外和X射线吸收光谱，密度泛函理论计算。这项研究的结果将有助于指导三效催化剂和催化转化器控制系统的设计，以提高性能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。

Heterogeneous catalysis plays a vital role in keeping the environment clean. For example, catalytic converters in automobiles significantly reduce the environmental impact of the transportation sector by converting exhaust components to less harmful gases. Dramatic improvements in air quality since the 1970s in locations such as the Los Angeles basin underscore the enormous impact of heterogeneous catalysis on everyday life. Critical to the development of more efficient catalytic processes and the design of new catalytic materials is understanding the relationship between a catalyst's atomic structure and its function. It is expected that insights obtained during this research project will provide necessary information to guide the design of more effective catalysts, thereby enabling improvements in the performance and efficiency of catalytic converters. To promote unique educational opportunities provided by this research project, graduate students from the University of California-Santa Barbara and the University of Florida will visit Ford Motor Company's Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, MI for three months each summer to continue research as visiting scholars. Undergraduate students will be involved in the research project and will learn from the topic through in-class modules. Three-way catalysts are the workhorse components of catalytic converters that achieve simultaneous oxidation and reduction of pollutants to less harmful species. Typical metals at the active sites of three-way catalysts are Platinum (Pt), Palladium (Pd) and Rhodium (Rh). While Pt and Pd typically promote oxidation reactions, Rh plays a crucial role in commercial catalysts because of its ability to reduce nitrous oxide (NO) to dinitrogen (N2). Despite its commercial importance, the mechanism of NO reduction on Rh active sites has remained largely elusive under relevant automotive working conditions. In this project, academic researchers will interface with an industrial partner to gain crucial mechanistic insights into the role of atomically dispersed Rh species in commercial three-way catalysts. Rigorous comparisons of the performance and mechanism of NO reduction chemistry under realistic conditions on atomically dispersed Rh and Rh clusters, as a function of environmental conditions and support composition, will be made. The research approach will combine kinetic studies, in-situ infrared and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, and density functional theory calculations. Results of this study will help guide the design of three-way catalysts and catalytic converter control systems for improved performance.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.