Research – Our Objective
The CRC 1333 seeks to identify, quantify, and exploit the confinement principles of enzymes that can direct and improve the reactivity and selectivity of homogeneous catalysts.
Exploiting confinement effects for catalysis
We start out with organometallic and organic catalysts which are precisely defined in terms of chemical structures and sizes. These catalysts are selectively anchored inside of well-defined, mesoporous support materials with controlled pore diameters between 2 and 6 nm and narrow pore size distributions, typically ± 0.5 nm.
The support materials employed have well-defined pore geometries and chemical compositions as well as tailored surface chemistries. Most importantly, catalyst immobilization must proceed in a pore-selective manner, exclusively confining the catalysts inside the pores. Thereby, we prevent the creation of mixtures of confined and non-confined catalysts.
Reactions in continuous flow enable studying the influence of both confinement and flow on reaction kinetics and selectivity.
Catalysis and materials properties are characterized using an array of analytical and simulation tools, ensuring the necessary high level of precision in materials synthesis, catalyst immobilization, and design of experiment.
Ultimately, we aim to rationally develop hybrid, molecular heterogeneous catalysts confined in mesoporous materials that mimic or even exceed the reactivities and selectivities of enzymes.
Catalysis of the Future: A Key Technology for Sustainable Chemistry and a Sustainable Society
Explore our research work focused on the catalysis of the future.
Catalysis is a key technology for advancing sustainable chemistry and a sustainable society.
