DYNAMIC PROMOTION AND KINETIC INVESTIGATION OF HETEROGENEOUS CATALYTIC REACTIONS BY OSCILLATING POTENTIALS

Abstract

Heterogeneous catalytic processes are crucial for many chemical reactions of practical significance. The development of catalysts most commonly happens through material design, i.e. by understanding the active sites and tuning their structures. As the catalyst material and structure vary, an apparent maximum in the catalytic rate, termed the Sabatier limit, is usually observed to exist. One possible approach of transcending the Sabatier limit is by continuously varying the catalyst properties during the reaction, a methodology known as ‘dynamic catalysis’. In this thesis, we utilise the application of oscillating electric potentials to study and enhance catalysis at non-steady state, in the contexts of formic acid electro-oxidation, ethylene hydrogenation and selective alkyne hydrogenation. To gain insights into the catalytic surface processes under oscillating potentials, we employ experimental techniques with time resolution that can accommodate the often relatively short time scale of the potential oscillation.