The selective oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes or ketones, in particular benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde, can be effectively catalyzed using noble metal nanoparticles. Choosing an appropriate support with well-defined structure and suitable surface chemistry is a feasible and effective approach to make metal nanoparticles with specific size, shape, structure, and to avoid agglomeration leading to catalytic deactivation. With the intention of successfully synthesizing more efficient heterogeneous catalysts for the selective oxidation of alcohols, it is extremely important to elucidate the effect of metal nanoparticle confinement inside the novel nano-structured support on the catalytic activity for selective oxidation of alcohols with particular highlights on the interactions between both metal-metal and metal-support.
In this study, Au, Pd, Pt monometallic and Au-Pd bimetallic catalysts will be synthesized by confining the active phase (metal nanoparticles) into various pristine and surface-functionalized nano-materials, such as SBA-16, TUD-1 and CNT. The supported noble metal catalysts will be examined in the selective oxidation of various alcohols under aerobic condition using molecular oxygen. The unique structure of selected support is found to improve the stabilization of the metals in the preparation as well as the reaction process. Furthermore, surface chemistry (metal-support interaction) and synergetic effect in the case of metal alloy catalysts (metal-metal interaction) play a crucial role in controlling the catalytic performance of as-prepared catalysts. Various characterizations will be carefully conducted to look into the insights of these catalysts’ physicochemical properties.

报告人简介：
Dr. Yang received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Tsinghua University and Ph.D. degree in chemical engineering from Yale University in 1998 and 2005, respectively. His doctoral advisor is Prof. Gary L. Haller. Dr. Yang joined School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering (SCBE), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore as an assistant professor in August 2005 right after He graduated from Yale. Dr. Yang’s primary research area is heterogeneous catalysis over metals and metal oxides. In particular, Dr. Yang is interested in understanding the fundamental catalytic concepts and phenomena using well-defined model catalyst and chemically probed reactions. The model reactions in his laboratory include aerobic oxidation of alcohols, selective hydrogenation of aldehyde, epoxidation using air, CO2 utilization (dry reforming and CO2 methanation), and SWCNT production. Along with Dr. Yang’s main research interests, he also employs the high surface area materials for various applications, e.g., protein separation, UHPLC separation, enantioselective drug adsorption and release. Dr. Yang has published over 100 research articles in top tier journals including JACS, J. Catal., Chem Comm., ACS Nano, etc.. Dr. Yang was promoted to be associate professor with tenure in chemical engineering in 2010.