Collaborative Research: In situ Characterization of Methanol Oxidation Catalyzed by Copper-Based Materials

全球60%以上的合成化学品都使用催化剂，90%以上的化学工业使用催化材料，据估计，每年对全球经济的综合影响超过10万亿美元。此外，催化对化学反应至关重要，在化学反应中，反应物有效地转化为产物，同时最大限度地减少对环境有害的副产物的产生。然而，催化技术的进步往往更多地依赖于化学直觉，而不是基本原理。最近出现的？nano-characterization工具吗?从根本上改变了这一点，并允许通过催化剂的详细表征及其与化学反应性的关系来发现催化的基本原理。在匹兹堡大学、宾厄姆顿州立大学和布鲁克海文国家实验室的合作项目中，PIs Judith Yang、Goetz Veser和Guangwen Zhou将使用最先进的表征工具，包括环境透射电子显微镜、原位扫描隧道显微镜和x射线光电子能谱。补充了使用一个特别设计的空间分辨微反应器的反应性研究，以获得催化结构-反应性关系的基本见解。PIs将专注于含铜催化剂，这类催化剂对现有和新兴的能源技术具有重要意义，例如甲醇的部分氧化和水气转移反应。实验将在简单的模型系统上进行，包括Cu单晶和由Cu表面原位可控氧化产生的Cu氧化物。研究了铜基催化剂的相、表面和界面结构与催化活性之间的关系。结果将与市售的Cu/ZnO催化剂进行比较，为这些基础研究提供商业基线。像能源生产这样一个重要的全球性课题不仅需要科学研究的进步，而且需要训练有素的人员来帮助将这些进步转化为工业实践。两所主要大学和一个国家实验室之间的伙伴关系将丰富参与该计划的学生的教育。研究生将接受材料物理/化学和催化科学方面的培训，并将学习新的显微镜、光谱学、动力学和建模技术，以及当前能源研究前沿的材料问题。在更广泛的清洁能源技术领域培养研究生，以及基础科学学科（如催化动力学、材料科学、物理学等），将导致未来的领导者能够更好地解决社会面临的复杂能源和环境问题。该项目的成果也将被纳入两所大学新的研究生课程和高中推广项目中。

Catalysts are used in the manufacturing of more than 60% of all synthesized chemicals and more than 90% of chemical industries use catalytic materials world-wide, with an estimated combined impact on the global economy of over $10 trillion per year. Furthermore, catalysis is essential to chemistry where reactants are efficiently converted to products while minimizing the production of by-products that are environmentally harmful. Yet, technological advancements in catalysis have frequently depended more on chemical intuition than fundamentals. The recent emergence of ?nano-characterization tools? has fundamentally changed this and is allowing the discovery of fundamental principles of catalysis via detailed characterization of catalysts and its correlation with their chemical reactivity. In a collaborative program between the University of Pittsburgh, SUNY Binghamton, and Brookhaven National Laboratory, PIs Judith Yang, Goetz Veser and Guangwen Zhou will use state-of-the-art characterization tools including environmental transmission electron microscopy, in situ scanning tunneling microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, complemented with reactivity studies using a specially designed spatially resolved microreactor in order to gain essential insights into catalytic structure-reactivity relationships. The PIs will focus on copper-containing catalysts, a class of catalysts with importance for existing and emerging energy technologies, such as partial oxidation of methanol and the water-gas-shift reaction. Experiments will be performed on simple model systems including Cu single crystals and Cu oxides produced by controlled oxidation of Cu surfaces in-situ. Correlations between the phases and surface and interface structure of Cu-based catalysts and their catalytic activity will be identified. The results will be compared with commercially available Cu/ZnO catalysts to provide a commercial base-line for these fundamental studies. An important global topic such as energy production requires not only advances in scientific research, but trained people to aid in the transfer of these advances into industrial practice. The partnership between two major universities and a national laboratory will enrich the education of the students involved in this program. Graduate students will be trained in materials physics/chemistry and catalysis science and will learn about new microscopy, spectroscopy, kinetics and modeling techniques as well as materials issues that are at the forefront of current energy research. The training of graduate students in the broader area of clean energy technology, as well a fundamental scientific discipline (e.g., catalytic kinetics, materials science, physics, etc.), will result in future leaders that are better equipped to solve the complex energy and environmental problems that face society. Results from this project will also be incorporated into new graduate-level courses and high school outreach programs at both Universities.