Modern catalysis

Chorkendoiff J. W. Niemantsverdriet Concepts of Modern Catalysis and Kinetics... 

The study of shape and crystal structure of small metallic particles is of prime importance in modern catalysis science. The relation between reactivity and structure is still not well known. The main problem in studying small metallic particles is that conventional techniques fail in the manometer diameter range. However it is possible to overcome these difficulties by the application of non-conventional methods. It is the purpose of this paper to review some of these methods and to present some results on the characterization of gold and platinum particles. 

The field of chemical kinetics is far reaching and well developed. If the full energy surface for the atoms participating in a chemical reaction is known (or can be calculated), sophisticated rate theories are available to provide accurate rate information in regimes where simple transition state theory is not accurate. A classic text for this field is K. J. Laidler, Chemical Kinetics, 3rd ed., Prentice Hall, New York, 1987. A more recent book related to this topic is I. Chorkendorff and J. W. Niemantsverdriet, Concepts of Modern Catalysis and Kinetics, 2nd ed., Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2007. Many other books in this area are also available. 

Carpenter, B.K. (1984) Determination of Organic Reaction Mechanisms. Wiley, New York. Chorkendorff, I. and Niemantsverdriet, J.W. (2003) Concepts of Modern Catalysis and Kinetics. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. 

Edgars Abele gained his habilitation in 1999 and is at present the head of the Modern Catalysis Methods Group of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis in Riga. His areas of interest include the investigation of transition metal complexes and phase transfer catalyzed reactions. 

Chorkendorff I, Niemantsverdriet JW. Concepts of modern catalysis and kinetics. Wein-heim Wiley-YCH Verlag GmbH Co. KGaA 2007. 

Iron has played an extremely important role in catalysis in the past, present and increasingly will in the future. The fundamental work carried out over a centuiy ago continues to he relevant and informative to modern catalysis. The discovery and development of heterogeneous iron-hased catalysts used in large-scale ammonia, methanol and hydrocarbon synthesis, amongst others, has undoubtedly sculpted modern science and society. Most crucial to the use of iron in modem catalysis is perhaps the excellent sustainability traits associated with iron. The high natural abundance, low cost and low toxicity of iron oxides and iron salts provides sustainable avenues for molecule diversification. In particular, the ability of simple iron oxides and iron salts to facilitate crosscoupling and olefin hydrofunctionalisation reactions, where noble metals are commonly required, demonstrates a significant advance towards more sustainable synthesis. 

R158 I. Hannus, Zeolites as Catalyst Support in Hydrodechlorination Reaction , in Silica and Silicates in Modern Catalysis, ed. I. Halasz, Transworld Research Network, Trivandrum, India, 2010, p. 477. 

The aim of theoretical catalysis is to predict catalytic reactivity for an arbitrary system and, hence, to direct the synthetic chemist to the exploration of new materials. A completely different approach, with important modeling consequences, would be possible if systems could be developed that not only self repair drrring the catalytic reaction, but also would change or adapt as a function of the product formed. The ideal catalyst would form itself from catalyst building components in a reaction mixture in response to desired products. To analyze the conditions for the chemodesign of such systems is one of the great challenges of modern catalysis. We refer further to this topic in Chapter 9. 

Chorkendorff L, Niemantsverdriet J.W. Concepts of Modern Catalysis and Kinetics, 2nd edition. Wiley-VCH Publisher, NJ, 2007,478 pp, ISBN No. 978-3-527-31672. ... 

Apart from these application related aspects, there are also several new metholo-gies in modern catalysis research that have already demonstrated their importance for the development of more efficient catalysts or processes. These include the following technologies ... 

On surfaces or in solution (and the distinction is being undermined everyday nov r by the catalysis on nanoparticles), modern catalysis operates within the framework of Wilhelm Ostwald s transformation of catalysis from magic to rate change (as often slowing down as enhancing, but that is another story). Here is how Ost-wald put it ... 

It is only in recent years, following what is commonly referred to as the Gold Rush in the scientific literature, that NHC-Au complexes have gained popularity and have seen their potential unfold. The first application in catalysis of a NHC-gold species appeared in 2003, but the real surge in publication only started in 2006. Since then, there is hardly a week without a report on the activity of NHC-Au catalysts in organic synthesis is published. The field is dominated by two main topics of crucial importance in modern catalysis, namely cycloisomerization of polyunsaturated substrates and hydrofunctionalization of 7i-bonds. NHC-Au species have been the subject of several reviews... 

Fig. 3.14 Values of pre-exponential factors depending on the adsorption-desorption and transition state. (From I. Chorkendorff, J.W. Niemantsverdriet, Concepts of Modern Catalysis and Kinetics, Copyright 2003, Wiley).

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