Abhaya K. Datye

Taming the dynamics of single atoms in heterogeneous catalysts via atom trapping

Abhaya Datye, Ph. D.
Distinguished Regents’ Professor & Emeritus Department Chair, Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering, University of New Mexico

Abstract: Heterogeneous catalysts are the workhorses of the chemical industry, being used for producing energy and materials for our society.  The research in my group focuses on catalysts that contain an active metal component supported on a high surface area oxide.  A typical catalyst will contain nanoparticles of platinum group metals dispersed on a high surface area, thermally stable oxide support.  Applications include automotive exhaust emission control, refining of petroleum products and generating hydrogen from steam reforming of methane.  During use, these catalysts lose catalytic activity, primarily due to the growth of nanoparticles due to the migration of atoms on the catalyst support.  If these atoms could be trapped or recaptured, it may be possible to slow the processes of catalyst sintering, and even create self-healing catalysts. 

Over the past decade, research has shown that isolated metal atoms provide unusual catalytic activity and the ultimate in atom efficiency.  The field of single atom catalysis has evolved from being an academic curiosity [1] to one of the most widely studied methods for the synthesis of novel catalytic materials [2].  For industrial applications, single atom catalysts need to be stable under reaction conditions and demonstrate durability during accelerated aging. 

Since mobile single atoms constitute the dominant mechanism for catalyst sintering via Ostwald ripening, improving the stability of single atoms could help improve the durability of all heterogeneous catalysts used in industry.   In this presentation we will describe our work using an approach which we termed atom trapping [3].  Our initial work focused on trapping volatile metal oxides such as PtO₂, to improve the durability of Pt catalysts, but we are now learning how this approach can be more broadly applicable.  We will describe how fundamental understanding of the stabilization of single atoms and sub-nanometer particles and clusters can be helpful in applications ranging from emission control to hydrocarbon conversion and lay the path for industrial applications of single atom catalysts.

1.  A.K. Datye and H. Guo, Single atom catalysis poised to transition from an academic curiosity to an industrially relevant technology. Nature Communications, 2021. 12(1): p. 1-3.
2. Regalbuto, J.R. and Datye, A.K., All the lonely atoms, where do they all belong? Nat Nanotechnol, 2022. 17(2): p. 110-111.
3. Jones, J., Xiong, H.F., Delariva, A.T., Peterson, E.J., Pham, H., Challa, S.R., Qi, G.S., Oh, S., Wiebenga, M.H., Hernandez, X.I.P., Wang, Y., and Datye, A.K., Thermally stable single-atom platinum-on-ceria catalysts via atom trapping. Science, 2016. 353(6295): p. 150-154.

Bio: Abhaya Datye has been on the faculty at the University of New Mexico since 1984 after receiving his Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan (advisor Johannes Schwank). He has authored 250 publications, 7 patents and has presented 166 invited lectures around the world. His published work has received 23,685 citations with an h-index of 78 (Google Scholar). He is a fellow of the AIChE, the Microscopy Society of America and the Royal Society of Chemistry. He has been actively involved in the North American Catalysis Society, serving as co-chair for the Denver NAM 2017, program co-chair for the Snowbird NAM 1995 and Vice Chair for the International Catalysis Congress 2020. He was the Chair of the Gordon Research Conference on Catalysis in 2010. He has served on the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund Advisory board (2014 – 2020), on the Frontiers of Catalysis board at Haldor Topsoe in Denmark and on the Heterogeneous Catalysis Advisory board at Sasol. He was elected as a board member for the North American Catalysis Society (2017-2021 & 2021 – 2024) and he is serving on the Department of Energy Basic Energy Sciences (BESAC) advisory committee.

His research group has pioneered the development of electron microscopy tools for the study of catalysts. Current work in his group involves fundamental studies of catalyst sintering, especially the stabilization of isolated single atoms on supports for high temperature catalytic applications such as exhaust catalysis and alkane conversion. While characterization of catalysts is a primary focus of his research, this has allowed him to be actively engaged in microengineering of catalysts, developing novel functionality through the design of catalyst supports and surface morphology. In the area of Fischer-Tropsch catalysis, he has worked on both Cobalt and Iron F-T catalysts to investigate aspects such as attrition resistance, catalyst deactivation and the role of promoters and support.

His research has been recognized through numerous awards, including the Giuseppe Parravano award for Excellence in Catalysis from the Michigan Catalysis Society (2022), the Robert L. Burwell Lectureship of the North American Catalysis Society (2019), Walter J Weber Distinguished Lectureship from the University of Michigan Chemical Engineering (2019), Eastman Lectureship from the University of South Carolina (2019) the John Matthews Lectureship from the Microscopy Society of South Africa (2012) and the 2008 Award for Excellence from the NSF IUCRC program, In 2016, the ACS publication Chemical & Engineering News included his research on single atom catalysis as one of the top 10 stories for the year.