Past event

School of Chemistry Colloquium: Prof. Sir Richard Catlow Structure, Dynamics and Reactivity in Catalytic and Energy Systems

The concerted use of synchrotron, neutron and modelling techniques has proved to be a powerful approach in probing catalytic structures and processes at the molecular level. We will illustrate the approach by recent applications to a range of systems including:
* Hydrocarbon dynamics and reactivity in microporous catalysts, where we will describe how the concerted use of modelling with neutron spectroscopy can yield unique information on molecular transport and reactivity in hydrocarbon synthesis and auto-exhaust catalysts.

* Structural and electronic properties of nano-particulate catalysts, including photocatalysts, where the focus will be on the combination of modelling with synchrotron techniques in developing detailed structural models of supported nano-particles.

* Carbon dioxide, ammonia and methane activation on oxide, and nitride catalysts where the focus will be on developing models for the activation mechanisms.

* The electronic structure of wide band gap semiconductors and photoactive oxides

We will discuss how this powerful combination of techniques might be applied more widely in catalytic and energy materials science.

The seminar is open to final year undergraduate project students, PhD students, post-doctoral researchers and academic staff.