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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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In addition to its annual lectures, ChBE hosts a weekly seminar throughout the year with invited lecturers who are prominent in their fields. Unless otherwise noted, all seminars are held on Wednesdays in the Molecular Science and Engineering Building ("M" Building) in G011 (Cherry Logan Emerson Lecture Theater) at 4:00 p.m. Refreshments are served at 3:30 p.m. in the Emerson-Lewis Reception Salon.
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Developing Ceria-Based Catalysts
Ceria-supported metal catalysts are widely used in automotive emissions control, where ceria provides “Oxygen Storage Capacitance.” Ceria-supported metals also have potential for a large number of other applications, ranging from methane oxidation to the water-gas-shift reaction, due to the enhanced properties that ceria imparts. However, the activities and stabilities depend strongly on the structure of the ceria and whether or not it is mixed with a second oxide. Catalyst properties are also affected by how catalytic metals interact with the support.
In this talk, I will first discuss work aimed at understanding the role that ceria plays in oxygen storage and demonstrate that the thermodynamic redox properties of catalytic forms of ceria differ from that of bulk ceria. I will then talk about our efforts to maximize the interactions between catalytic metals and ceria, as well as prevent sintering of the metal particles, through the preparation of core-shell catalysts deposited onto a functionalized-alumina support. These core-shell catalysts exhibit exceptional activity for methane oxidation, with impressive stability at high temperatures.
