The 91AV are pleased to announce that this event will be moving online. This web page will be updated over the coming weeks with more details. If you have any questions please contact us at events@rsc.org
Welcome
Join us online in February 2021 for this addition to our Faraday Discussion series. For over 100 years and 300 meetings, Faraday Discussions have been the forefront of physical chemistry. Many of these Discussions have become landmark meetings in their field.
We invite you to join us to discuss the topic of Reaction mechanisms in catalysis and make your contribution to this cutting-edge dialogue alongside leaders in this field.
This meeting is for established and early career scientists, post-graduate students and industrial researchers interested in the key aspects of reaction mechanism studies and how this can drive rational design of catalysts. Given that the reaction mechanisms of many commercial processes although successfully operated, are still a matter of debate and controversy, the unique format of the Faraday Discussions will allow for in-depth discussions and opportunities to establish new collaborations.
On behalf of our committee, we look forward to welcoming you at the Discussion online.
Justin Hargreaves
Chair, Reaction mechanisms in catalysis
Attendance
The 91AV is keen to encourage and enable as many people as possible to attend our events, to benefit from the networking opportunities and the chance to hear talks from leaders in the field. If you would like to discuss accessibility, please contact us to discuss your requirements so that we can enable your attendance.
Format of the Discussion
Faraday Discussions remain amongst the only conferences to distribute the speakers’ research papers in advance, allowing the majority of each meeting to be devoted to discussion in which all delegates can participate. Following each meeting a written record of the discussion is published alongside the papers in the Faraday Discussions journal.
Find out more about the Faraday Discussions in this videoThemes
Heterogeneous catalysis is a core area of contemporary physical chemistry posing major fundamental and conceptual challenges. Catalysis lies at the heart of the chemical industry - an immensely successful and important part of the overall UK economy, and catalysis plays a crucial part in the production of 80% of all manufactured goods. Catalysis is a major theme in chemical sciences and engineering that underlies much of the key research and teaching in these subjects.The reaction mechanisms of many commercial processes although successfully operated, are still a matter of debate and controversy, e.g. methanol synthesis and Fischer Tropsch catalysts. Hence there is now the opportunity to focus a Faraday Discussion concerning key aspects of reaction mechanism studies and how this can drive rational design of catalysts.
The Faraday Discussion will be organised into the following themes:
Theory and reaction mechanisms
Modern theoretical methods are now playing a central role in understanding reaction mechanism and are starting to enable catalyst design. This is an exciting topic to open the discussion, as there remain several technical and scientific challenges.
Challenges of using advanced characterisation methods for in situ reaction mechanism studies
The use of photon and neutron sources (synchrotron, neutrons and lasers) have fast become significant in determining the active sites of catalysts which is a key requisite for understanding reaction mechanisms. The session will explore new opportunities including those arising from Free Electron Laser (FEL) sources and in situ methods and reaction mechanisms. The latest techniques in which catalysts are interrogated under realistic reaction conditions have led to major discoveries and this will be a key topic for discussion, including developments in spatial and temporal resolution which will be needed in developing mechanistic understanding.
Opportunities for understanding reaction mechanisms under flow conditions
Most commercial catalysts are operated under flow conditions and reaction mechanism studies require a substantial array of advanced techniques and often show key differences from batch reaction studies. This session will discuss how studying reaction mechanisms under flow conditions can benefit from modern methodology.
Dynamic catalytic systems on the border of heterogeneous/homogeneous catalysis
Application of nanoparticle catalysts in fine organic synthesis is the central topic for development of efficient synthetic procedures for producing drugs and pharmaceutical substances. This highly valuable research area is demanded in the pharma industry. In this session we will discuss fundamental topics on dynamics of catalytic systems, effect of leaching on stability and activity of nanoparticle catalysts.