Prof. Ive Hermans, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA
When: Wednesday, November 27 , 2019, 5:15 pm
Where: TUM IAS Auditorium
Abstract
The oxidative dehydrogenation of propane (ODHP) has been broadly studied as a potentially more energy-efficient alternative to naphtha cracking and propane dehydrogenation for propylene production. However, decades of research establishing supported vanadium oxide as the state-of-the-art catalyst for ODHP still does not achieve commercially attractive selectivity to the olefin due to the facile over-oxidation of propylene to CO and CO2 (COx). In this presentation, I will expound upon our discovery of boron and boron containing materials (like BN, B4C, NiB, amongst others) as highly selective catalysts for the ODHP reaction. Tuning of the reaction conditions changes the product distribution towards cracking products. FTIR, Raman, XPS, XAS and MAS NMR spectroscopic studies indicate that all tested boron-containing materials commonly share a partially oxidized surface, formed in situ. We propose that this surface layer contains the active site denoted BOxHy and utilize a suite of solid-state NMR experiments to further resolve the near surface chemical environment of these catalysts. We believe that the surface layer is likely influenced by the properties of the bulk material, opening new possibilities for future catalyst development. Kinetic experiments align with our hypothesis that the boron-catalyzed ODHP reaction mechanism likely proceeds via a surface-initiated reaction and continues via gas phase radical oxidation chemistry.
Short bio
Ive Hermans obtained a Ph.D. under the supervision of Profs. Pierre Jacobs and Jozef Peeters (2006; K.U.Leuven, Belgium). In addition to his scientific education, Ive Hermans also holds a postgraduate degree in Business Administration (K.U.Leuven, 2006). After post-doctoral research on in situ spectroscopy and reaction engineering with Prof. Alfons Baiker, he became assistant professor for heterogeneous catalysis (spring 2008) at ETH Zurich in Switzerland. January 2014, Prof. Hermans moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, holding a dual appointment in the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering. His group focuses on the mechanistic understanding of catalytic technology using a variety of techniques. In 2009 he received the ExxonMobil Chemical European Science and Engineering Award, in 2014 the Emerging Researcher Award by the ACS Division of Energy and Fuels, the 2016 Postdoc Mentoring Award by the UW Postdoc Association, the 2017 Inaugural Robert Augustine award by the Organic Reaction Catalysis Society, and the 2019 Ipatieff Price by the American Chemical Society. He currently serves at the John and Dorothy Vozza Professor and is a H. I. Romnes Faculty Fellow.