While spectroscopically observable species may or may not be relevant in catalysis, the reaction kinetics and especially the response of the rate law to changes in reaction conditions can provide a great deal of information about key intermediates. This approach is well-precedented for homogeneous reactions, but is less commonly used to explore heterogeneous reactions because of the greater difficulty in extracting very high quality kinetic data. Using supported catalysts or catalyst precursors designed for high site uniformity, such as supported organometallic complexes and complex (crystalline) oxides, we show that it is possible to extract physically meaningful kinetic parameters and deduce key reaction steps with a degree of precision equal to that expected for homogeneous catalysts.

Elucidating the formation and reactivity of heterogeneous catalysts using isothermal and non-isothermal reaction kinetics

245th National Meeting (2013)

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