CAS: New Strategies for Electrocatalytic Reactions with Transition-Metal Hydrides

在化学系化学催化项目的支持下，斯坦福大学化学系的Robert Waymouth教授正在研究电化学驱动过程的新型催化剂和反应性模式。这类反应的目标是开发新的、更环保的商品化学品合成路线，并促进对与能量储存相关的化学反应的科学理解。随着间歇性可再生能源的日益普及，第二种应用变得尤为重要。主要目标是通过应用新的电化学技术开发更高效、更持久、更少浪费的催化剂。虽然性能是一个重要的考虑因素，但理解基本的反应性是至关重要的。对目前知之甚少的化学反应模式的阐明为更广泛的科学界进一步改进创造了机会，远远超出了目前提出的工作范围，这是一个更广泛影响的例子。在这项资助下进行的研究将吸引年轻研究人员将基础科学转化为实用的、以应用为重点的技术。向可持续能源经济过渡的紧迫挑战凸显了这些研究和教育经验将在培训下一代科学家以应对这些挑战方面发挥的关键作用。PI和他的学生将参与一些教育和推广活动，包括与当地K-12教师的合作。在化学系化学催化项目的支持下，斯坦福大学化学系的Robert Waymouth教授正在研究电化学驱动过程的新型催化剂和反应性模式。本研究的重点是提高对如何介导可逆电催化氧化/还原反应的基本理解。本研究的主要目标是利用分子催化的优势来阐明分子过程的关键机制原理，使醇和酮作为代表性的还原和氧化液体燃料或底物的快速，化学选择性和节能的电催化转化成为可能。为了实现这些目标，异相或酶促电催化剂已经投入了相当大的努力，但目前对如何应对这些挑战的理解有限，需要新的方法。在这方面，提出的研究方向是开发新型电催化剂、电催化介质和串联电催化反应。虽然重点是均相电催化剂的发展，但从这些均相系统的研究中得出的基本见解和机制概念应该推广到更强大的非均相电极催化剂，突出了这些研究具有广泛科学影响的潜力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并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，被认为值得支持。

With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Robert Waymouth of the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University is studying new catalysts and patterns of reactivity for electrochemically driven processes. This class of reactions is being targeted both to develop new, more environmentally-friendly synthetic routes for commodity chemicals and to advance scientific understanding of chemical reactions relevant to energy storage. This second application is becoming especially important with the increasing adoption of intermittent, renewable energy sources. The primary goal is the development of catalysts that are more efficient, longer-lasting, and less wasteful through the application of novel electrochemical techniques. While performance is a significant consideration, understanding the fundamental reactivity is of paramount importance. The illumination of chemical reactivity patterns that are currently poorly understood creates opportunity for further improvement by the broader scientific community well beyond the scope of the currently proposed work, an example of broader impacts. The research to be conducted under this grant will engage young researchers in the translation of basic science to practical, application-focused technologies. The urgent challenge of transitioning toward a sustainable energy economy highlights the critical role that these research and educational experiences will play in the training of the next generation of scientists to address these challenges. The PI and his students will be involved in several education and outreach activities including involvement with local K-12 teachers.With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Robert Waymouth of the Department of Chemistry at Stanford University is studying new catalysts and patterns of reactivity for electrochemically driven processes. This research is focused on improving fundamental understanding of how to mediate reversible electrocatalytic oxidation/reduction reactions. The primary goal of this research is to exploit the advantages of molecular catalysis to illuminate key mechanistic principles of the molecular processes that enable fast, chemoselective, and energy-efficient electrocatalytic transformations of alcohols and ketones as representative reduced and oxidized liquid fuels or substrates. While considerable effort has been devoted to heterogeneous or enzymatic electrocatalysts to achieve these goals, limitations in current understanding of how to meet these challenges requires new approaches. In this vein, the proposed research is directed at the development of new classes of electrocatalysts, electrocatalytic mediators and tandem electrocatalytic reactions. While the focus is the development of homogeneous electrocatalysts, the fundamental insights and mechanistic concepts derived from the studies of these homogeneous systems should be generalizable to more robust heterogeneous electrode catalysts, highlighting the potential for broad scientific impact from these studies.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.