Abstract:

The chemical industry is the largest energy consumer among industrial sectors, accounting for 25% of global energy consumption, a figure projected to rise to 45% by 2040 with population growth and increasing prosperity. The production of everday materials, such as textiles, plastics and cosmetics is inherently tied to catalytic processes that currently depend heavily on fossil sources, driving substantial greenhouse gas emissions. Heterogeneous catalysts are central to these processes, accelerating reactions while lowering the temperature and/or pressure requirements, and thus energy, for desired product formation. However today’s catalysts face several limitations, including suboptimal selectivity to desired products, which leads to excessive raw material and energy consumption. Additionally, they often lack durability, losing activity over time due to surface poisoning from the strong binding of side products. Designing more efficient catalysts requires moving beyond trial-and-error approaches toward a fundamental understanding of catalyst mechanisms. This talk will highlight experimental approaches to exploring atomic-level surface structures of catalysts, using both model systems and nanoparticles. The relationship between surface structure of bimetallic systems and catalytic reactivity will be demonstrated through specific reactions, illustrating how next-generation catalytic materials can be tailored to meet future sustainability needs.