Catalysis: Adsorption and Kinetics

Course goals

Course aims 
- Fundamental understanding of adsorption as basis for catalyst characterization and kinetics.
- Knowledge and use of kinetics of catalytic reactions, mathematical description, and physical basis.
- Basic understanding on effects of diffusion on catalytic reactions.
- Knowledge of some of the most relevant catalysts for specific conversions, their structural properties and how they relate to catalytic performance.
 

Content

This course prepares for research in the field of catalysis, nanostructured materials and gas adsorption. It connects the underlying phenomena on atomic and nanoscale to the large scale of industrial catalysis. The first step of all catalytic reactions on surfaces involves adsorption. For that reason we discuss both physisorption and chemisorption, the former also for the study of specific surface area and porosity of solids. An introduction into kinetics is based on Langmuir-Hinshelwood descriptions as well as collision theory and transition state theory. The impact of diffusion on the rate of catalytic reactions is dealt with. Fundamentally different mechanisms of catalytic reactions on surfaces (acid-base, metals and oxides) are then reviewed, and linked to related large scale industrial processes.