(115b) Programmable Catalysis for Chemical Energy Technology

Catalysis enables new frontiers in energy such as converting natural gas to high-value products and storing energy from abundant power sources. However, challenges remain when catalysts are slow, expensive, or produce too many side products. To address such challenges, researchers have created a new class of programmable catalytic materials that oscillate in electronic state at the natural frequencies of elementary reactions and catalytic cycles using external perturbation (i.e., a program). By manipulating the charge of the active site for chemistry, it becomes possible to dynamically change the chemical energy landscape, leading to faster and more controllable reactions. Surface electronic oscillations in devices such as a catalytic condenser can accelerate reactions at resonance conditions leading to thousand-fold rate enhancement, even beyond the Sabatier catalytic rate limit. Paul Dauenhauer, the director of the Center for Programmable Energy Catalysis, introduces concepts of programmable catalysis and presents experimental and computational results, the design of experimental catalytic devices, and the principles associated with this emerging field of surface chemistry.