Collaborative Research: Dinuclear Heterogeneous Catalysts (DHCs) as a new Platform for Selective Oxidation of Carbon Monoxide (CO) and Methane (CH4)

催化剂是一种在不消耗自身的情况下提高化学反应速度的物质，在支撑我们经济的大规模化学过程中发挥着关键作用。一个例子是在天然气重整过程中，催化剂将甲烷转化为氢和一氧化碳(CO)。氢气可以很容易地用作清洁能源。一氧化碳可以作为合成甲醇和醋酸等有价值的化学品的起始原料。然而，目前的天然气重整过程带来的一个关键挑战是，它们往往是能源密集型的。解决这种低效的关键是通过新颖的催化剂设计。在化学系化学催化项目的资助下，波士顿学院的王博士、耶鲁大学的巴蒂斯塔和布鲁德维格博士以及加州大学欧文分校的潘博士正在研究一种有可能应对这一挑战的新型催化剂。这种催化剂具有精确设计和定义的结构，目前正在研究两种典型反应：一氧化碳氧化和甲烷活化。为努力扩大该项目的影响，正在开展协调一致的教育和外联活动。这些方案涉及来自不同背景的参与者，特别是那些代表性不足的少数族裔。本项目在化学系化学催化计划的资助下，研究了用于CO和甲烷(CH4)选择氧化的新型催化剂--双核多相催化剂。DHSC是一类以原子分散基元为特征的多相催化剂。它们为化学转化提供了新的性质。波士顿学院的王博士、耶鲁大学的Batista博士和Brudvig博士以及加州大学欧文分校的潘博士利用他们在催化剂设计、合成、表征和反应机理方面的互补专业知识。他们合作检验了这一假设，即DHS在选择性CO氧化和CH4活化等反应中比传统催化剂或最近表征的单原子催化剂更有效。这项研究是独一无二的，因为它考察了具有双核活性中心的多相催化剂的参与，其催化核心被很好地定义。研究活动得到了旨在促进代表不足的群体、K-12学生、普通公众以及本科生研究人员的教育努力的补充。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Catalysts, substances that increase the speed of chemical reactions without themselves being consumed, play critical roles in large-scale chemical processes that underpin our economy. One example is found in the reforming of natural gas, where catalysts convert methane to hydrogen and carbon monoxide (CO). Hydrogen can be readily used as a source of clean energy. CO can serve as a starting material for the synthesis of valuable chemicals such as methanol and acetic acid. A critical challenge presented by the current natural gas reforming processes, however, is that they are often energy intensive. The key to addressing this inefficiency is through novel catalyst designs. With funding from the Chemical Catalysis Program of the Division of Chemistry, Dr. Wang of Boston College, Drs. Batista and Brudvig of Yale University, and Dr. Pan of the University of California, Irvine are investigating a new type of catalyst that has the potential to meet this challenge. Featuring precisely designed and defined structures, the catalysts are being studied for two prototypical reactions, carbon monoxide oxidation and methane activation. In an effort to broaden the impacts of the project, concerted educational and outreach activities are being carried out. These programs involve participants from diverse backgrounds, especially those of underrepresented minorities. With funding from the Chemical Catalysis Program of the Division of Chemistry, this project studies new class of catalysts, dinuclear heterogeneous catalysts (DHCs), for selective oxidation of CO and methane (CH4). DHCs belong to the emerging class of heterogeneous catalysts featuring atomically dispersed motifs. They offer new properties for chemical transformations. Dr. Wang from Boston College, Drs. Batista and Brudvig from Yale University, and Dr. Pan from the University of California, Irvine leverage their complementary expertise in catalyst design, synthesis, characterization, and reaction mechanisms. They collaborate to test the hypothesis that DHCs are more effective toward reactions such as selective CO oxidation and CH4 activation, than conventional catalysts or the recently characterized single-atom catalysts. The study is unique as it examines the involvement of heterogeneous catalysts with dinuclear active centers whose catalytic core is well defined. The research activities are complemented by educational efforts aimed at promoting scientific research by underrepresented groups, K-12 students, and the general public as well as undergraduate researchers.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.