Thrust Group 2:
Media Design, Evaluation, and Characterization

The TG2 team has design responsibility for the media in which the catalysis is performed and for the supports for the active site to produce molecularly designed solid catalysts, vesicular catalysts, and others. Appropriate supports range from such well known materials as zeolites, Merrifield resins, silicates and aluminates, to templated macroporous polymers (the so-called molecularly imprinted polymers, MIPs), polymers soluble in water and other solvents, dendrimers, micelles, and vesicles. In principle, all solvents are available, but emphasis is on dense CO₂ and water, largely for green chemistry reasons. Developing new avenues for developing catalysts with nanoscale properties and for partnering transition metal complexes and other catalysts with dense CO₂ will be major near-term focus areas. The objectives of TG2 research are to rationally design environmentally benign reaction media and to develop novel supports to optimize the performance of catalysts for various Testbed reaction systems. TG2 research will lead to “enabling” advances vital to achieving the system level goal of developing environmentally beneficial catalytic processes. Solubilizing TG1 catalysts or otherwise partnering them with such benign media as water and CO₂ will alleviate interphase mass transfer resistances, resulting in enhanced reaction rates.

TG2 deliverables: