Dial-a-Molecule and the UK Catalysis Hub would like to invite you to the free symposium:
X-ray absorption spectroscopy: New Insights at the Interface between Homogeneous, Heterogeneous and Hybrid Catalysis
The event will take place on 19th and 20th September 2013 at STFC RAL near Diamond Light Source and researchers from both industry and academia are most welcome to attend.
This two-day symposium will bring together UK and international researchers interested in the application of X-ray methods to accelerating synthetic research in the remit of the Dial-a-Molecule Grand Challenge goals.
Day One will feature lectures from catalysis and synchrotron practitioners with a particular emphasis on the role of clusters and nanoparticles in synthesis.
Day Two will provide an interactive forum for attendees of all backgrounds and levels of synchrotron experience (including complete newcomers!) to foster new collaborations, and formulate interdisciplinary research grant and beamtime proposals.
Catalysis is currently experiencing a global renaissance, with interest soaring in new experimental and theoretical approaches to the design of novel catalysts offering exceptional activity and selectivity. Central to this resurgence is the recognition that catalysts are dynamic entities whose structures can evolve during reactions to influence the yield and purity of desired products, and in turn regulate catalyst lifetime and reuse. Advances in synchrotron radiation facilities, and associated X-ray analytical methodologies and reactor technologies, offer new opportunities for synthetic chemists working at the interface between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. The resulting insight is highly complementary to mechanistic investigations employing traditional spectroscopic (e.g. IR, Raman, UV-vis, NMR, EPR) and spectrometric methods (e.g. ESI-MS, MALDI). For example, time-resolved X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) enables the in situ detection of metastable reactive intermediates at ppm levels with millisecond resolution, and is a powerful tool for identifying active species and distinguishing them from catalytic spectators.
Program – Day 1
| 09:00 | Registration with tea/coffee |
| 09:30 | Introduction to Dial-a-Molecule and symposium aims |
| 10:00 | Plenary: In Situ XAFS characterisation of Pt catalysts for PEFC |
| Prof. Mizuki Tada (University of Nagoya) | |
| 11:00 | Tea/coffee |
| 11:30 | X-ray absorption spectroscopy of catalysts from the hard to the soft X-ray energy range |
| Prof. Sven Schröder (University of Manchester) | |
| 12:05 | The cross-coupling problem – a multi-ensemble of Pd species with significant implications for catalyst design |
| Prof. Ian Fairlamb (University of York) | |
| 12:40 | Lunch |
| 14:00 | Plenary: Probing chemical reactions using X-ray absorption spectroscopy |
| Prof. John Evans (Diamond Light Source/University of Southampton) | |
| 15:00 | Application of in-situ X-ray spectroscopies to catalyst design |
| Prof. Adam Lee (Cardiff University) | |
| 15:35 | Tea/coffee |
| 16:00 | Aspects of Pd catalysis revealed by XAS spectroscopy |
| Dr Mimi Hii (Imperial College) | |
| 16:35 | Metallic nanocatalysts in wet medium: study of the coordination chemistry at the metallic surface |
| Prof. Monserrat Gomez (Université Paul Sabatier) | |
| 17:10 | Nano-particles and nano-pores for catalysis: A DFT perspective |
| Prof. David Willock (Cardiff University) |
Program – Day 2
This day will be run in the format of a workshop to encourage discussions of the following topics:
1. Materials (e.g. ligand design, heterogenisation approaches)
2. Mechanisms (time-resolved methods, nanoparticles, multi-dimensional approaches)
3. Technique development (environmental cell design, new detectors, automated data collection/processing)
The primary goals of the discussion rounds are:
1. Identification of synergies across different chemical disciplines
2. Pairing of complementary skillsets to initiate new collaborative projects
3. Formulation of ideas for Diamond beamtime proposals (and global opportunities)
4. Exploration of opportunities for Research Council, Industry or European funding to integrate X-ray methods into synthesis programmes
Organising Committee: Adam Lee, Steve Marsden & Ian Fairlamb
