NSF-Europe: Novel Method for Synthesis of Silicates Possessing Ordered Pore Structure and Containing Metal Particles of Nanometer Scale with Defined Crystal Phase

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project utilizes solution methods to synthesize nanometer scale transition metal particles that can then be incorporated into the pores of mesoporous oxide silicates. It is a collaborative project involving UCB/LBNL and the Jozsef Attila University in Szeged, Hungary. The goals of the project are to develop and improve novel synthesis methods for the preparation of metal containing catalysts that (1) contain the metal components in a definite crystal form, (2) anchor the metal particles in the channel or cage system of micro- or meso-porous materials, (3) with the metal particles being accessible to adsorbates and reactant molecules that enter the pore system so that (4) the catalytic activity of the system can be tested. Success with this project will be of high interest to the academic and industrial community since it will have a big payoff for catalysis research with high potential technological impact. In addition, because of the significant interdisciplinary challenges to achieving success on this project there will also be unique opportunities for educational impact in that the postdoctoral scholar who will be working on the project and traveling between University of California at Berkeley / Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Jozsef Attila University in Szeged in Hungary will need to be well interfaced with graduate students participating in this project. As has been pointed out, because this research is high-risk with very high technological payoff, it will provide training skills that will make students very competitive in the job market. This NSF project is co-funded by the Office of Multidisciplinary Activities, the Divisioin of Materials Research (Solid State Chemistry), and the International Office (Western Europe) as a Cooperative Activity in Materials Research between the NSF and Europe (NSF 02-135). This project involves a collaboration between the University of California at Berkeley / Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and the Jozsef Attila University in Szeged in Hungary.