(81b) Rationally Designing Nanoporous Catalytic Materials for Sustainable Energy Applications

The increasing demand for energy and commodity chemicals combined with the diminishing fossil fuel supply has resulted in an accelerated research focus on discovering new catalytic processes. Utilizing lignocellulosic biomass holds great promise for producing sustainable chemicals and fuels. In addition, tandem catalytic processes, which allow multi-step reactions to occur in a single vessel, offer an alternative strategy to address the challenge by eliminating costly separation steps and increasing energy efficiency. Catalysts have been a key enabler in identifying and navigating sustainable and efficient energy processing.

In this talk, I will present how nanoporous catalytic materials (in particular, zeolites) should be rationally designed for biomass conversion and tandem catalysis. The scientific implications of this research are significant for the sustainable and efficient production of chemicals and fuels. Such knowledge has built a solid foundation for tailoring nanostructured catalytic materials to tackle global energy challenges.