An integrated, multi-dimensional in-operando Reaction Monitoring Facility for Homogeneous Catalysis Research

Our society is highly dependent on catalytic science which is central to major global challenges such as efficient conversion of energy, mitigation of greenhouse gases, destroying pollutants in the atmosphere and in water, and processing biomass which all rely intrinsically on catalysis. In addition, catalysis is a key technology for the chemical industry; it is estimated that catalytic science contributes to 90% of chemical manufacturing processes. Chemistry-using industries are is a major component of the UK's manufacturing output and vital part of the overall UK economy, generating in excess of £50 billion per annum. The ONS Annual Business Survey (2012) estimated chemical and pharma manufacturing to be worth £19 billion p.a. and predicted that by 2030, the UK chemical industry will have enabled the chemistry-using industries to increase their Gross Value Added contribution to the UK economy by 50%, from £195 billion to £300 billion.
Understanding how catalyst work is notoriously difficult because of the low concentrations and transient nature of catalytically active species. In this project will develop new equipment based on state-of-the-art flow NMR methods that will enable the rapid development of new catalysts for academic research and industrial processes. Crucially the equipment we propose will allow high sensitivity and real-time monitoring of catalytic reactions under a wide range of realistic reaction conditions (e.g., concentrations, temperatures and pressures). This will provide a unique facility to study the scope, productivity, selectivity and deactivation of catalysts, which in turn will provide insight into mechanisms and allow us to develop new catalytic systems.
The equipment will be utilized by academic and industrial scientists and engineers at the University of Bath and throughout the UK to understand and develop catalysts for a wide range of processes of academic and industrial relevance. Areas that will benefit from the equipment will include; catalysts for renewable polymers, catalysts for utilisation and valorisation of biomass, catalysts for sustainable energy, and catalysts for sustainable synthesis of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. The progress that will be enabled by the equipment will be exploited, particularly within the pharma and fine chemicals sectors, through collaboration with a wide variety of UK catalyst companies and chemical producers.

The project will integrate a range of analytical techniques around a high-pressure, high-sensitivity flow NMR core. The ability to gain a pleathora of real-time analytical data in the challenging (high pressure, high temperature, low concentration) environment of realistic catalytic conditions will have a significant impact on analytical science. The facility will address issues at the interface of process engineering, organometallic chemistry, catalysis and NMR spectroscopy and will contribute to all of these areas. The application of the facility will provide significant results in areas such as clean energy, polymerisation, and biomass conversion.

Public:
The areas of catalysis research underpinned by the facility address many important societal issues such as healthcare, sustainable energy and environmental protection. The research enabled by the facility will provide, in the longer term, a decrease in reliance of fossil-based resources having an impact on the environment and on security of supply. Outputs of the project have the potential to support the UK's high value manufacturing base to be competitive and innovative thus enhancing job creation.

Skills:
This interdisciplinary project brings together chemists, engineers and analytical scientists at Bath and, through an open access scheme, throughout the UK. It will also directly support two EPSRC Centres for Doctoral Training. The facility will, therefore provide training in the ability to integrate skills in synthesis, analysis and process chemistry to a wide range of PhD and PDRA researchers thus producing a trained personnel for a cross-disciplinary workforce who understand the science, engineering and manufacturing contexts of catalytic science.

Industrial end-users:
In addition to the commercial project partners (who include an equipment manufacturer, a catalyst manufacturer, a specialist catalytic process development company and a multinational pharmaceutical company), the research enabled by this equipment will have an impact on a wide range of industrial end-users, many of whom we already collaborate with. These include commodity and fine chemical manufacturers, polymer manufacturers, pharmaceutical and agrochemical manufacturers and chemistry-using companies in a range of sectors such as fast moving consumer goods, food, automotive and aerospace.