I realize that a lot of the people that visit this site are not going to be experts in heterogeneous catalysis, so I've tried to break things down into a couple of different sections. If you are an undergrad interested in doing research in my group, please read the general information below as well as the the more basic information and feel free to contact me if you have questions or want to discuss research opportunities.
Research in our group is in the field of environmental heterogeneous catalysis and is motivated by a variety of environmental concerns and “green chemistry”. Essentially, we are trying to make new solid state materials that can reduce energy consumption and chemical waste and developing the necessary chemistry required to utilize renewable (biologically derived) resources rather than depleting (petroleum) resources for some important pharmaceutical intermediate chemicals. Within these general themes, we are investigating new methods for preparing catalytic materials and studying the chemistry occurring on the catalyst surface. These studies are inherently interdisciplinary and we routinely involve aspects of heterogeneous catalysis and chemical kinetics as well as organic, inorganic, organometallic, and even (a little) bioorganic chemistry. A wide variety of projects are available to chemistry and engineering majors and even first year students including: exploring new catalyst preparation methods, developing new catalytic reactions using renewable resources, and understanding the chemistry that occurs on catalyst surfaces. Below are two examples of larger projects; each has many smaller parts and offers a lot of different opportunities for student research. Please stop by my office or email me if you’d like to hear more.
One of the two main topics that we are exploring is the application of dendrimers to the preparation of supported bimetallic catalysts. This research is part of a collaboration with several researchers in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of South Carolina. Dendrimers are hyperbranched polymers that emanate from a core and ramify outward. Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers, in particular, contain a defined number of interior amine groups that can be used to bind metal ions; their composition and architecture (open spaces within the interior) create an ideal environment for trapping guest species. We are using these dendrimers as nanoreactors to prepare very small metal particles (12-100 atoms) with designated sizes, compositions, and morphologies (see figure above). We then adsorb the dendrimer-encapsulated nanoparticles onto an oxide support (e.g. silica) and remove the organic dendrimer shell to yield supported metal nanoparticles catalysts (figure below). As this project develops, will use these catalysts to study the effects of metal particle size, composition, and morphology on several environmentally important reactions.
The second general area of research is in developing the chemistry and applications for these new catalysts. Initially, we are looking at using monosacharides, such as sucrose, as starting materials for organic synthesis. Monosacharides are attractive because they are inexpensive to obtain in enantiomerically pure forms and have three contiguous and controllable chiral centers. We will be exploring the use of various heterogeneous catalysts to mediate organic transformations of the monosacharides and their derivatives. Research in this area will include replacing environmentally unfriendly Hg salts (used in some necessary transformations of the starting materials) with supported metal oxide catalysts. Part of this research area will examine the development of enantioselective and diastereoselective heterogeneous catalysts. In this area we will explore using supported metal catalysts modified with chiral phosphines for the chemo- and enantioselective hydrogenation of the α, β unsaturated ketones, which can be readily prepared from monosaccharides.
Information for people who are not experts in heterogeneous catalysis
Information directed towards those "skilled in the art"
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