Although the field of heterogeneous catalysis is dominated by engineers in the US, there are numerous opportunities for fundamental studies and new developments.  Over the past 10 years, we have worked at the overlap between inorganic chemistry and chemical engineering, using nanoparticle and materials synthesis, reaction kinetics, and in-situ infrared spectroscopy.  This talk will focus on our most recent work in three areas:  understanding the mechanism of CO oxidation over supported Au catalysts, employing controlled poisoning experiments to evaluate the number of catalytic active sites on Au catalysts, and developing catalytic test reactions as tools for characterizing metal nanoparticles.  The development of a strong collaboration with a Trinity colleague in physical chemistry will also be discussed, particularly its impact on combating scientific isolation.

Undergraduate research in heterogeneous catalysis at Trinity University

245th National Meeting (2013)

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