Micro- and nano-patterned electrodes for the study and control of spillover processes in catalysis

这是一个令人兴奋的机会，可以利用半导体器件微纳米制造技术的最新进展来制造和评估模型催化剂家族。原则上，这种技术可用于控制例如催化剂表面上的组分的空间排列。我们打算使用这种技术来制备金属特征变化超过三个数量级(从大约100纳米到1毫米的长度尺度)的微米和纳米结构的负载金属催化剂结构。这一建议的动机是，如果我们想要提高我们对真实高压操作条件下的多相催化体系的理解，就需要研究催化剂-载体界面及其在多相催化中的作用(关键是，尽管人们承认这种界面可以严重影响催化剂的性能，但缺乏研究其作用的方法)。为了能够用电化学方法探测载体和催化剂之间的界面区域，我们将使用沉积在氧化物固体电解质载体上的连续电极形式的结构化催化剂，并将此类系统中的行为与负载在更复杂载体上的类似模型催化剂进行比较，但更有实际意义的是，如二氧化钛。我们将重点关注氧化物负载的贵金属；这类催化剂系统在工业上得到了广泛应用，有证据表明，这类催化剂的活性可能会受到溢出过程的影响，这是电化学促进的结果。该项目汇集了一支杰出的科学家和工程师团队，非常适合处理我们预计将影响我们未来看待多相催化的方式的工作。

An exciting opportunity exists to exploit recent advances in techniques used in the micro- and nano- fabrication of semiconductor devices to fabricate and evaluate families of model catalysts. Such technologies can, in principle, be used to control the spatial arrangement of components on, e.g., a catalyst surface. We intend to employ such techniques for the preparation of micro- and nano-structured model supported-metal catalyst structures with metal features varying by more than three orders of magnitude (from approximately 100 nm to 1 mm in lengthscale). This proposal is motivated by the need to study the catalyst-support boundary and its role in heterogeneous catalysis if we are ever to improve our understanding of heterogeneous catalytic systems under real 'high pressure' operating conditions (crucially, although it is acknowledged that this interface can critically influence catalyst performance, there is a lack of ways to study its role). In order to be able to probe the interfacial region between support and catalyst electrochemically we will work with structured catalysts in the form of continuous electrodes deposited on an oxide solid-electrolyte support and compare the behaviour in such systems with similar model catalysts supported on more complex supports, but of greater practical interest, such as titania. We will focus on noble metals supported on oxides; such catalyst systems being widely employed industrially and there being evidence that the activity of such catalysts can be influenced by spillover processes as a result of 'electrochemical promotion'. The project brings together an outstanding team of scientists and engineers that is ideally suited to address the work which we anticipate will influence the way we view heterogeneous catalysis in the future.