US-Federal Republic of Germany Cooperative Research: Supported Metal Catalysts with Unique Structures Derived from Molecular Metal Clusters

该奖项支持特拉华大学催化科学与技术中心的Bruce C.Gates博士与法兰克福慕尼黑大学物理化学研究所的Helmut Knoezinger博士合作进行研究。他们在催化和表面化学方面有共同的兴趣，并正在合作研究由碱性金属氧化物载体上的有机金属前驱体制备的新型金属催化剂。他们使用的前体包括Re、Rh、Os、Ir和铂。载体包括氧化镁、氧化镧和氧化钙。催化剂包括单核络合物、强健的阴离子金属簇合物以及通过从分子金属簇合物中去除配体而形成的具有独特核性的金属聚集体。在制备了各种负载型催化剂后，它们将确定其结构并表征表面结合团簇的反应活性。他们还将在实验上确定它们的催化活性、选择性和稳定性，用于工业上重要的测试反应。这项工作将根据两个研究小组的互补专门知识和设施共同进行。诺辛格博士在表面物理化学和光谱学方面拥有专业知识，盖茨博士在表面金属有机合成和使用流动反应器技术对催化剂性能进行详细表征方面做得更多。因此，催化剂将在特拉华州准备，分析和实验测试将在两个实验室进行，具体取决于适当的设备和可用的人力。这一研究将促进人们对具有分子结构的金属氧化物负载金属催化剂的结构和催化活性的基本认识。它还可以阐明分子金属团簇在迄今为止被认为是传统的负载型金属催化剂中的作用。通过将分子金属络合物催化剂和簇合物催化剂与传统的负载型金属催化剂联系起来，为分子前驱体在制备新型催化材料中的可能开发指明了方向。

This award supports Dr. Bruce C. Gates of the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology, University of Delaware, to collaborate in research with Dr. Helmut Knoezinger of the Institute for Physical Chemistry, University of Munich, FRG. They share an interest in catalysis and surface chemistry, and are collaborating in a study of new classes of metal catalysts prepared from organometallic precursors on basic metal oxide supports. The precursors they are using include rhenium, rhodium, osmium, iridium and platinum. The supports include magnesium oxide, lanthanum oxide and calcium oxide. The catalysts include ensembles of mononuclear complexes, robust anionic metal clusters, and metal aggregates with unique nuclearities formed by removal of ligands from molecular metal clusters. After preparing a variety of supported catalysts, they will determine their structures and characterize the reactivities of surface bound clusters. They will also experimentally determine their catalytic activities, selectivities and stabilities for industrially important test reactions. The work will be shared based on the complementary expertise and facilities of the two research groups. Dr. Knoezinger has expertise in surface physical chemistry and spectroscopy and Dr. Gates has worked more with surface organometallic synthesis and detailed characterization of catalyst performance using flow-reactor techniques. Therefore, the catalysts will be prepared in Delaware and the analyses and experimental testing will be done in both laboratories, depending on where the appropriate equipment and available manpower is located. This research will advance fundamental understanding of the structures and catalytic activities of metal oxide-supported metal catalysts having molecular structures. It may also elucidate the role of molecular metal clusters in what have heretofore been considered conventional supported metal catalysts. By making the connection between molecular metal complex catalysts and cluster catalysts and conventional supported metal catalysts, it will point the way to possible exploitation of the molecular precursors in the preparation of novel catalytic materials.