Bimetallic catalysts for "hydrogen-free" hydrogenation of furfural derivatives.

This project is related to an EPSRC funded collaboration between Prof Chris Baddeley and Prof Mark Keane (Chemical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University) that aims to design bimetallic catalysts with enhanced catalytic activity in "hydrogen free" selective hydrogenation in continuous flow operation. Au has been shown to be an effective catalyst for ultraselective hydrogenation, but its catalytic activity is limited by the slow H2 dissociation step. Preliminary studies show that coupling of 2-butanol dehydrogenation (to provide reactive hydrogen) with furfural hydrogenation (to furfuryl alcohol) over physical mixtures of oxide supported Au and Cu results in orders of magnitude enhanced H2 utilisation in the coupled system and elevated selective hydrogenation rate relative to the single component Au catalyst. The role of Cu is thought to be to provide active sites for the dehydrogenation step. This coupled system does not necessitate the use of H2 at high pressure, so has potentially important safety implications for large scale catalytic processes.

Furfural is a biomass derived heterocyclic aldehyde that can serve as a non-petroleum based renewable feedstock. The target furfuryl alcohol product is a high value chemical used to manufacture resins/rubbers/adhesives and as a chemical building block for drug synthesis. The project sets out to gain a fundamental understanding of the mechanism of the coupled dehydrogenation/ hydrogenation process through a range of surface measurements including scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and medium energy ion scattering (MEIS). Metal nanoparticles will be deposited onto flat oxide surfaces to provide models of the real catalytic systems that can be analysed in detail by surface techniques. The competitive adsorption of 2-butanol and furfural will be examined on supported nanoparticles of Cu, Au and bimetallic CuAu. The work will first focus on the influence of the metal/support interface and nanoparticle composition on the surface chemistry and catalytic reactivity. The molecular-level mechanistic understanding provided by the surface characterisation coupled with a determination of the influence of gas phase reagents on surface composition (MEIS facility at the University of Huddersfield) will inform synthesis of supported Cu-Au bimetallic systems. A programme of rational catalyst design will be undertaken directed at achieving the catalyst formulation that delivers the optimum hydrogen utilisation efficiency.

Please list any agreed training requirements:

Attendance at relevant School Colloquia

Completion of a selection of the following PG courses:
Academic Writing; Advanced Spectroscopic Methods; Surface Chemistry; Heterogeneous Catalysis; Chemical Applications of Electronic Structure Calculations; Solid State Electrochemistry I, Ionic Conduction, Intercalation and Batteries; Nanostructured Materials