Principal Investigator: Nigel Browning
Institution: University of California-Davis
Analysis (rationale for decision):
Although catalysis is the longest standing application of nanotechnology, the complex mechanisms controlling many reactions are still not fully understood. The development of models to engineer catalysts on the nanoscale holds great promise for the use of catalysts in manufacturing, energy conversion, and environmental quality. As the important reaction sites for many catalysts are related to metal clusters that range in size from single atoms up to a few nanometers, the key first step in the development of an understanding of catalysis requires the ability to characterize the metal clusters on the atomic scale. This GOALI project will use advanced techniques in both electron microscopy and with synchrotron radiation to determine the shape, size distribution, composition, chemical valence state, and metal-support interactions in a variety of precisely synthesized catalyst systems. The microscopy aspect of this research will make use of newly developed instruments that are particularly suited to the analysis of small metal clusters. These instruments feature an aberration corrector that will take spatial resolution down below 0.1 nm, a monochromator that will take the spectral resolution down below 0.2 eV, and an in-situ stage that will permit samples to be analyzed in 3-D while maintained under a gaseous environment.
To ensure that this research has broad applicability to the catalysis community, it will be performed with two industrial partners, ExxonMobil and Monsanto. These collaborators will supply samples, provide guidance on the requirements for industrial-scale catalysts, and play an active role in co-advising the graduate students. This interaction with students on this program will be further enhanced through internships and collaborative meetings, thereby helping to educate the next generation of scientists in the application of advanced characterization techniques to the study of heterogeneous catalysis. These broader impacts are part of a larger interdisciplinary program at UC Davis: Nanomaterials in the Environment, Agriculture, and Technology (NEAT), which provides a focus for education and outreach programs in all aspects of the nanosciences.
