Abstract - Dumesic - 9802238 Combined microcalorimetry, spectroscopy, reaction kinetics measurements, and electronic density functional calculations will be used to quantitatively study the reactivity of light hydrocarbons with Pt-based catalysts. The study is extended to quantitatively characterizing the promotion of Pt, Pd, Ru and Rh metals by Sn and alkali metals. The metals will be supported on Cab-O-Sil, silicalite, and K-L zeolite. The hydrogenolysis of ethane, esters, and selective hydrogenation of unsaturated aldehydes will be used as probe reactions. The long-term outcome of this research will be highly selective metal catalysts for hydrocarbon reactions. The study will involve U. Wisconsin facilities for in-situ Moessbauer spectroscopy (119Sn Moessbauer for oxidation state and coordination of Sn), TEM (for metal particle size), FTIR and microcalorimetry (of adsorbed H2, CO, alkenes, alcohols, ethyl acetate, and acrolein), chemisorption (of hydrogen, oxygen, and CO), and steady-state and transient isotopic-label kinetics. It will also involve collaboration with theoretical scientists and engineers at the U. Wisconsin and in Denmark.
