Successes and pitfalls in design of silver catalysts for ethylene epoxidation

The combination of theory and surface science experiments has proven to be a powerful approach to unraveling the mechanism of olefin epoxidation with silver catalysts. This chemistry presents several challenges for catalyst design. First, for complex reaction networks such as those in selective oxidation, the challenge is to maximize selectivity at viable conversions, rather than to maximize activity. This requires one to consider competing reaction channels, not just a single path. Second, in making the leap to prototype catalysts to test predictions from theory, it is essential to consider both what one is trying to make and what one has made. In other words, are the preparation strategies suited to producing materials that bear some relationship to the computational model, and does the working catalyst hold up well against this standard? We consider examples from promoted silver catalysts for ethylene epoxidation that illustrate both successes and pitfalls in catalyst design.

Successes and pitfalls in design of silver catalysts for ethylene epoxidation Conference Paper