The Catalyst Review asked 'What is your perspective on the most promising 2009 R&D advances in the catalytic worid?'

摘要

Catalysis Science and Engineering stand on knowing which site is efficient for a given reaction. They also allow developing new catalysts, understanding how they operate and, ultimately, controlling them. The strength of operando spectroscopic methodology in Catalyst Engineering lies in its ability to establish fundamental molecular structure-activity/selectivity relationships. Such knowledge allows developing real-time spectroscopic control of catalyst operation. Recent progress providing real-time 3D-chemical maps of working catalysts in real industrial conditions is becoming impressive (Banares, 2009). Catalysts exhibit all kind of gradients (concentration, temperature, structural, oxidation, coke deposition gradients, etc) during catalytic processes, all of which are on different length-scales: on a large scale (e.g., axial and radial directions of the catalyst bed), on a middle scale (e.g. within catalyst pellets and particles), and also on an atomic scale (e.g. variation of surface species on metal surfaces). Spectroscopy provides real-time imaging of such chemical gradients during chemical processes.