Description du projet
Observer la dynamique des catalyseurs à l’échelle atomique
Les catalyseurs sont des substances qui accélèrent la vitesse d’une réaction chimique. Le projet TACCAMA, financé par l’UE, entend étudier les corrélations entre la dynamique et l’activité de catalyseurs modèles à l’échelle atomique. Pour y parvenir, les chercheurs inséreront un microscope à balayage à haute résolution temporelle et spatiale directement dans des mélanges de gaz réactifs. Cela permettra d’étudier comment la structure des particules du catalyseur et des substrats change dans les conditions de réaction. En utilisant de petits agrégats avec un nombre d’atomes précisément défini, les chercheurs examineront comment les structures de particules hautement réactives apparaissent et disparaissent, comment ce processus peut être contrôlé et comment il influence la fonction du catalyseur. Ces connaissances pourraient déboucher sur la mise au point de nouvelles solutions plus rentables que les catalyseurs à base de métaux précieux couramment utilisés aujourd’hui.
Objectif
From fine chemical synthesis over combustion control to electrode design – the majority of chemical reactions rely on catalysts to improve energy and material efficiency. Yet, the atomic-scale processes underlying a catalytic reaction at elevated pressures are far less well-understood than one might expect. Indeed, the successful optimization of industrial catalysts is typically achieved by ‘trial and error’. If we precisely understood the correlation between catalyst dynamics and activity, we could instead design stable, yet intrinsically dynamic (i.e. structurally fluxional) catalysts, drastically reduce our waste of noble metals by using only the most active particles and replace rare and toxic materials.
This project constitutes a fundamental and systematic investigation of heterogeneous catalysis in action. My aim is to map the pressure and temperature range in which supported particle catalysts are stable, and correlate particle size and support morphology with dynamics and stability. To do so, I will combine my experience with surface dynamics studies, video-rate scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), ambient pressure (AP) surface science and cluster research. State-of-the-art video-rate APSTM will enable me to observe catalyst dynamics such as sintering, adsorbate spillover onto the support, dynamic structural fluxionality of clusters and support roughening as a function of reactant partial pressure and temperature. The novelty of this project lies in the direct observation of catalyst particles, defined to the exact number of atoms, under realistic reaction conditions in order to tune reactivity by controlling their dynamics and stability on structurally and electronically optimized oxide supports. AP X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) will supply complementary information about chemical changes occurring in cluster and support. The knowledge gained will contribute to the targeted design of more active and efficient catalysts for specific applications.
Champ scientifique
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ERC-STG - Starting GrantInstitution d’accueil
80333 Muenchen
Allemagne