Nanoengineered Materials for Clean Catalytic Technologies
Lead Research Organisation:
CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
Department Name: Chemistry
Abstract
Catalysis lies at the heart of life on earth, powers our homes and puts food on our tables. However to a large degree our ability to transform individual atoms and molecules into new pharmaceutical medicines, fuels, and fertilisers has depended upon an equal combination of brilliant science and serendipitous discoveries. This reflects the complex interactions between reacting molecules and products, their surrounding environment, and of course the catalyst itself, which ideally remains unchanged over thousands of reaction cycles. Recent advances in chemical synthesis and analysis now offer an unprecedented opportunity to sculpt the atomic structure of solid catalysts and to peer inside their microscopic workings.Over the next five years, I propose to integrate these new experimental and theoretical breakthroughs with my own expertise in catalyst design and testing, to develop a new generation of nanoengineered materials for the clean production of valuable chemical feedstocks and sustainable biofuels. New collaborations, forged with world leaders in the areas of inorganic solid-state chemistry, nanoscale imaging and computer modelling, will help me to develop the multidisciplinary skillsets needed to achieve my vision of solid catalysts, tailored 'on demand', for efficient clean technologies that will benefit society over the coming decade.
Publications
Bonne M
(2011)
A general route to synthesize supported isolated oxide and mixed-oxide nanoclusters at sizes below 5 nm.
in Chemical communications (Cambridge, England)
Rabee A
(2017)
Acidity-Reactivity Relationships in Catalytic Esterification over Ammonium Sulfate-Derived Sulfated Zirconia
in Catalysts
Lee A
(2012)
Active Site Elucidation in Heterogeneous Catalysis via In Situ X-Ray Spectroscopies
in Australian Journal of Chemistry
Parlett C
(2014)
Alumina-grafted SBA-15 as a high performance support for Pd-catalysed cinnamyl alcohol selective oxidation
in Catalysis Today
Dacquin JP
(2009)
An efficient route to highly organized, tunable macroporous-mesoporous alumina.
in Journal of the American Chemical Society
Pirez C
(2014)
An energy-efficient route to the rapid synthesis of organically-modified SBA-15 via ultrasonic template removal
in Green Chem.
Woodford J
(2012)
Better by design: nanoengineered macroporous hydrotalcites for enhanced catalytic biodiesel production
in Energy & Environmental Science
Dingwall L
(2012)
Bifunctional Organorhodium Solid Acid Catalysts for Methanol Carbonylation
in ACS Catalysis
Osatiashtiani A
(2014)
Bifunctional SO 4 /ZrO 2 catalysts for 5-hydroxymethylfufural (5-HMF) production from glucose
in Catal. Sci. Technol.
Fairlamb I
(2013)
C-H and C-X Bond Functionalization - Transition Metal Mediation
Description | Selective catalytic transformations for agrochemicals |
Organisation | Syngenta International AG |
Country | Switzerland |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Two part-sponsored PhD studentships have undertake fundamental research into the mechanism of palladium catalysed transformations and identified key factors controlling the catalytic performance and stability of nanoparticles. |
Collaborator Contribution | Access to laboratories, intellectual guidance, provision of catalysts |
Impact | One PhD graduated to date, and 2 peer-reviewed publications. |
Start Year | 2009 |
Description | Synchtrotron studies of nanostructured materials |
Organisation | Elettra Sincrotrone Trieste |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | New research areas in catalysis and materials science developed resulting in numerous jointly authored publications over 17 years. |
Collaborator Contribution | Access to synchtrotron facilities and training of 8 PhD students and PDRAs |
Impact | Joint publications, contributions to annual highlights, invited seminar and Fonda-Fasella 2004 award |