Zeolite-supported Molecular Metal Complex Catalysts - Atomically-Precise Methods for Synthesis of Solid Catalysts - page 27

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CHAPTER 2
Zeolite-supported Molecular
Metal Complex Catalysts

ISAO OGINO

Division of Chemical Process Engineering, Graduate School of
Engineering, Hokkaido University, K13W8, Kita-Ku, Sapporo,
Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
Email: [e-mail]

2.1 Introduction
Supported metal catalysts have found numerous applications in industry. 1,2
Many of the supported metal catalysts used in industry are non-uniform in
the structure of active sites. Non-uniformity may help one to discover new
catalytic reactions because a spectrum of different structures of active sites
allows various catalytic reactions to be tested simultaneously. However,
because a tiny fraction of supported species sometimes plays a dominant
role in catalysis, it remains challenging to understand the structure-
performance relationship of supported metal catalysts. If the structure of
active site is highly uniform and simple enough, it allows incisive structural
characterization by spectroscopic techniques. Furthermore, uniformity and
simplicity of the structure of supported metals allow the elucidation of
fundamental molecular chemistry by rigorous theoretical calculations at the
density functional theory (DFT) level. These investigations will build a
foundation for understanding the complex chemistry that takes place on
industrial catalysts as well as the design of new selective catalysts, ultimately
with more complex structures.

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