Seminars Archive

Epoxidation of higher alkenes over single crystal surfaces of copper and silver

Abstract
Heterogeneously catalysed alkene epoxidation is of great interest from both academic and technological points of view. Previously metallic silver was thought to be a unique catalyst for the epoxidation of alkenes. However, we have demonstrated that single crystal surfaces of copper can also act as highly efficient epoxidation catalysts. This opens a new field. We have studied the epoxidation of butadiene and styrene on Cu{111}, Cu{110} and the epoxidation of styrene on Ag{100} using a range of techniques including NEXAFS, STM and XPS. The influence of co-adsorbed alkalis and oxyanions on reactant conversion and product selectivity has also been determined. Our current project at ELETTRA on Ag(100) is an extension of these studies.