(153a) Understanding the Mechanism and Kinetics of Reactions Catalyzed By Metal Oxides

Metal oxides are used extensively as catalysts to promote a wide variety of chemical reactions, e.g., partial and total oxidation, thermal and oxidative dehydrogenation, aldol condensation, and amination. What make oxides so versatile is the spectrum of active sites contained at their surface, which include Brønsted and Lewis acidic and basic centers. This talk will illustrate how a fundamental understanding of oxide catalyzed reactions can be achieved using a combination of experimental and methods for reactions occurring on bulk and highly dispersed oxides. These illustrations will encompass alkene oxidation ammoxidation, aldol condensation of ketones, alcohol reaction with ammonia to form primary amines, and the oxidation of water.