Catalysts caught in the act undergo radical rearrangements during reactions
Monday, March 31, 2014 - 09:07
in Physics & Chemistry
Chemists who develop catalysts are always trying to improve catalytic efficiency or create novel reaction pathways, but they're doing so largely in the dark. The atomic-scale structure and chemical properties of catalysts remain surprisingly mysterious, despite the critical roles that catalysts play in a variety of industrial and environmental applications. Heterogeneous catalysts—which differ in phase from their substrates—are used, for example, to convert toxic nitric oxide from automotive emissions to less harmful gases.