Collaborative Research: I/UCRC Phase I: The Center for Rational Catalyst Synthesis

University Of South Carolina At Columbia, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

Catalysis is a hidden but high impact science at the heart of the energy, chemical and environmental industries. Catalysts are perhaps best known in automobile catalytic converters, but the same types of catalytic processes are responsible for commodity chemicals such as gasoline, textiles, and fertilizer and specialty chemicals such as pharmaceuticals. It has been estimated that catalysis accounts for over 95% (by volume) of all products and over 80% of added value in the chemical industry. About one third of the world?s economy depends directly or indirectly on catalysis. In spite of their immense importance, the development of new heterogeneous catalysts is still largely empirical, which is to say, time-consuming and expensive, particularly at the stage of synthesis. A grand challenge of catalysis is precisely the ?design and controlled synthesis of catalytic structures.? Our fundamental research in transforming catalyst synthesis from an art to a science will save tremendous amounts of time and energy in the development of new catalysts for petroleum, chemical and pharmaceutical companies as well as catalyst manufacturers. Optimized catalysts allow chemical conversions to be achieved in the most efficient, economical, and environmentally responsible manner, reducing raw material usage, energy requirements and greenhouse gas emissions. The Center for Rational Catalyst Synthesis (CeRCaS) will be the world?s first and only research center with the focus on understanding the chemical fundamentals of catalyst synthesis. CeRCaS will bring to bear powerful, complementary expertise at the University of South Carolina and Virginia Commonwealth University. The research projects which our industrial partners will help us select and refine are in three thrusts, first, The Fundamentals of Metal Deposition including in-situ observation of metal deposition mechanisms and a variety of methods for nanoparticle genesis, second, Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Solid-Solid Bonding, to be explored with theory and experiment to allow prediction of the wetting or sintering of metal oxides on support surfaces, and prediction of the size, shape and, in the case of bimetallics, composition of supported nanoparticles, and third, Precision Site Synthesis for Specific Reactions, in which nanoparticles will be synthesized with specific size, content (single or multi-metals) and morphology and so be optimized for particular catalytic reactions or to minimize the content of expensive precious metals. Graduate students will be mentored with the practical mindset akin to an NSF Engineering Research Center. This industrial bent will stem from two sources; first, internally, from VCU?s site Director (Gupton) and USC?s Deputy Director (Monnier) who hail from distinguished research careers in industry, and second, externally, from direct involvement of industrial research in individual research projects. Educational outreach will include the recruitment and eventual industrial placement of underrepresented groups. Both Universities have significant pools of women and minorities with whom to work.