Catalysis and surfaces

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Modern developments in the field of catalysis proceed in various directions to which surface science is directly relevant. Alloy catalysts possess interesting properties. The addition of as little as 5% copper to a nickel catalyst, for example, changes the activity for various reactions by several orders of magnitude and completely modifies the selectivity of the catalyst. Such phenomena raise the question of surface composition and electronic structure of alloys and of the degree of localization of chemisorption forces. Most practical catalysts are prepared in the form of highly dispersed metal onto a high surface-area insulator. Both components possess catalytic activity, which leads to the concept of a bifunctional catalyst. Metal catalysts are responsible mostly for hydrogenation, dehydrogenation, and hydrogenolysis of hydrocarbons, while acid sites on insulators are mostly involved in cracking and isomerization of organic molecules. The high dispersion of metal catalysts represents a novel state of matter, the very small particle, whose properties are different from those of a gas, of a conventional solid, or of a liquid. Little is known about the morphology, structure, thermodynamic properties, and alloying behavior of these particles. In addition to the above problems, we discuss two investigations of surfaces and their connection with the problem of catalyst poisoning and the development of a novel fuel cell.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: