Mixed-metal and nano-sized catalytic clusters

Researchers from the School of Chemistry and Physics at the University of Adelaide have been using eResearch SA’s supercomputers to investigate the properties of catalysts that could be used to improve some of the world’s most significant chemical processes.

The development of more efficient catalysts holds huge potential gains for both industry and the environment. Catalysts speed up chemical reactions, significantly reducting capital costs for businesses, improving chemical and energy efficiency, and reducing the impact on the environment.

Around 80% of all current industrial chemical processes use catalysts. The world’s largest and arguably most important catalysed industrial process is the Haber-Bosch process for producing ammonia from N₂ and H₂. It alone consumes a huge 1% of the world's energy supply, meaning the potential gains from the discovery of more efficient catalysts are great.

Recent research effort has focussed on improving catalytic activity through the use of nano-sized metal particles. Nano-sized metal clusters containing 3–40 atoms have been shown to induce catalysed activity at significantly lower temperatures than bigger metallic surfaces. By combining the advantages of mixed-metal catalysts and nano-sized metal clusters, researchers think it may be possible to achieve unprecedented control over the activity, efficiency and selectivity of metallic catalysts.

To produce these improvements, researchers are working to understand the microscopic details of the catalytic process and, in particular, how molecular interactions with mixed-metal clusters change as a function of nanoparticle size and composition. Research currently being carried out using eResearch SA’s facilities addresses this; the goal is to undertake systematic experimental and computational investigations into the chemical and physical properties of mixed-metal clusters and their interactions with several important molecules such as N₂, CO, and CO₂.

One day this might even help researchers solve the holy grail of catalytic processes—how to convert atmospheric CO₂ gas simply and easily into another chemical compound, thus offering the world a clear climate change solution.