Maggiano's Little Italy
240 Oakbrook Center
Oakbrook, Illinois 60523
 630-368-0314

Cost $45 Professionals
$20 Students/Post Docs

On the Role of Hydrogen in
Heterogeneously Catalyzed Reactions

Professor Manos Mavrikakis
Paul A. Elfers Professor
Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
University of Wisconsin – Madison
1415 Engineering Dr.
Madison, WI 53706-1691

Mavrikakis Web Site

Abstract

Hydrogen is a frequent participant in several heterogeneously catalyzed reactions, including Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis (FTS) of fuels, ammonia synthesis, oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), NO reduction, preferential oxidation of CO in the presence of H₂ (PROX), etc. Having analyzed the detailed aspects of the reaction mechanism for a number of these reactions on various transition metal and alloy surfaces using first principles methods, some common principles governing the role of hydrogen in a wide range of catalytic transformations begin to emerge. In this presentation, we will discuss these common mechanistic principles by examples, including FTS, ORR, PROX, through an analysis of the energetics of alternative elementary reaction steps and the resulting potential energy diagrams. Connections to observations from experimental studies provide an invaluable perspective for the evaluation of our theoretical assessments.