Professor Wiejian Diao of Villanova University

"Rational bimetallic catalyst synthesis and its application for chemical production and renewable energy"

Catalysts were first used in industrial processes for production of sulfuric acid in 1746. From petroleum refining to pharmaceuticals to automobile emission control, catalysts are widely used in industrial processes and daily life. Recent studies have shown that catalysts are used for synthesis of over 75% of all chemical products and contribute directly or indirectly to approximately 35% of the world's GDP.

Bimetallic catalysts have been widely used in industrial processes which offer better performance of activity, selectivity and lifetime comparing to monometallic due to ensemble/geometric effects, electronic effects, and/or bifunctional effects. However, bimetallic catalysts are typically prepared on an industrial scale using either successive impregnation or co-impregnation methods which frequently provide inadequate control over placement of each metal with varying compositions and distributions of each metal.

Using a rational bimetallic synthesis method called electroless deposition (ED), different series of bimetallic catalysts including Pt-Ru, Pd-Au, Pd-Ag, Ag-Ir have been prepared with controllable composition and structure. Bimetallic catalysts synthesized by ED method have shown supreme performance for many different applications including selective hydrogenation reactions, selective oxidative reactions as well as direct methanol fuel cell. Detailed reaction mechanism study shows that precisely controlled bimetallic catalysts prepared by electroless deposition method significantly improve catalyst performance with ensemble/geometric effects, electronic effects, and/or bifunctional effects.