CHEM 710/7100-01 - Catalysis
Semester: Fall 2025
Professor: M. Schlaf | Discipline: Inorganic | Campus: GuelphDescription
Catalysis is the most important technique in the chemical industry – almost all basic chemicals ranging from fuels (gasoline, kerosene, Diesel), lubricants and waxes, fertilizers, to all polymers (PE, PP, PETE, PPTE, PBTE, Nylon™, Lycra™, EPDM, poly-butadiene rubber, etc., etc.), to detergents, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals are produced using one or several metal-catalyzed processes. An at least basic knowledge and understanding of hetero- and homogeneously catalyzed reactions of large-scale technical, socio-economic, and military-strategic relevance is therefore a key skill to survive and succeed in any job interview and ultimate career in the chemical industry.
This course will attempt to provide an introduction and overview of the field of catalysis using (supported) heterogeneous metal/metal oxide and transition metal complexes focusing on
- general principles and reaction patterns of catalytically active transition metal centres, metal/metal oxide surfaces and supported metals.
- mechanisms: kinetic and thermodynamic parameters and how to determine them.
- activation of small molecules such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, ethylene, propylene, ethylene oxide, etc.
- large scale industrially relevant processes and their socio-economic importance.
The ultimate objective of the course is to provide you with the know-how to understand (or at least make some educated guesses on) the mechanisms of any catalyzed reactions and have some insight into the principles of catalyst, reaction and process design. The course will be – as much as possible – conceptual in nature and thus should be suitable for students in any field of chemistry (inorganic, organic, physical and analytical) with 3rd year level undergraduate courses in inorganic and organic chemistry.
Tentative topics to be covered in lectures – somewhat flexible based on interest and timing:
- What is catalysis ? Some simple truths and definitions: TOF, TON, catalyst life-times and space-time yields.
- Homogeneous vs heterogeneous catalysts.
- Heterogeneous catalysts: types of catalysts, active sites, and defects.
- Synthesis and characterization of metal and metal oxide catalysts.
- Types of reactors and some important heterogeneously catalyzed processes.
- Homogeneous catalysts: Overview of types of ligands and their electronic and steric properties. Reaction patterns of transition metal centres and their coordinated ligands.
- The tools of the trade: mechanistic investigations through thermodynamic, kinetic and isotope labelling studies.
- Two historical perspectives on homogeneous catalysts: The Wacker process and Wilkinson’s Catalyst.
- Hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis reactions beyond Wilkinson: The Shvo and Noyori systems: ionic and enantioselective hydrogenations.
- Oxidation and epoxidation beyond Wacker: The search for efficient and “green” aerobic oxidation catalysts. The Sharpless catalyst as example of enantioselective oxidations.
- Adding carbons I: Hydroformylation, hydrocyanation, carbonylation, Fischer-Tropsch chemistry and related reactions – the Monsanto process.
- Adding carbons II: Oligomerization and dimerization reactions. The Shell Higher Olefin Process (SHOP). Metallocenes and other single-site polymerization catalysts. Metathesis reactions and ROMP using Grubb’s catalyst.
- The Holy Grail I: Catalytic C-H bond activation in simple hydrocarbons: The Catalytica process (Periana Catalyst) and related fundamental processes.
- The Holy Grail II: Catalytic Hydrodeoxygenation of biomass to fuel and chemicals.
- Cross-coupling and other miscellaneous reactions: Heck, Stille, Sonogashira, Hartwig, Buchwald, etc.
- Doing things differently: Ionic liquids, supercritical solvents and homogeneous catalysts on solid supports: Biphasic reactions and catalyst recovery and reuse.
- … we will see !
Materials
No textbook – instead extensive lecture notes and reading material in form of primary (i.e., research articles) and secondary (i.e., review articles) will be made available online for download.
Evaluation
Midterm (in class, date TBA by discussion in class): 40 %
Student Seminar Presentation in class (via Mini-Link) 30 %
Research proposal (as take-home final in form of an NSERC Discovery Grant Application) 30 %
Lab/Project
No laboratory component.
Each student in the course will be required to give a ~ 30 min. presentation (PowerPoint or OpenOffice – max. 30 slides) on a topic of his/her choice within the field of catalysis. In order to coordinate this effort and avoid overlap, I will suggest and discuss potential topics in the first class. Presentation dates are assigned by preference of the presenter on a first-come/first-served basis. The *.ppt or *.sdd file of your presentation must be uploaded to cloud (to be specified) on the day of your presentation.
The final exam will be take-home in the form of a research proposal in NSERC format (5 pages + 2 pages literature references) on a specific topic of your choice within the field of homogeneous catalysis. The proposal and presentation cannot be on the same topic. Proposals can also not be on a topic covered by the instructor or someone else in class, but can constitute an extension of your own graduate research project, as it relates to catalysis (if & where applicable). Guidelines on the preparation of NSERC proposals can be found on the NSERC website at www.nserc.ca. The proposal should give a brief 2-2 1/2 pages mini-review of the (patent) literature relevant to your chosen topic and include mechanistic and/or synthetic discussion and a 2 -2 1/2 page description of the actual research proposed outlining the conceptual and experimental approach.
Due date for take-home exam (research proposal): Friday, 2025-12-05, 17:00 h (c.o.b.) as a pdf file by email and/or cloud upload (to be specified).
Required mode of submission of your research proposal is as a word processor or pdf file by e-mail to [email protected] or by upload to the Course Cloud (login & password to be announced).
Schedule
- Mon: 7:00 pm - 9:20 pm in MacN 203