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EXC 314:  Unifying Concepts in Catalysis

Subject Area Molecular Chemistry
Analytical Chemistry
Biological Chemistry and Food Chemistry
Chemical Solid State and Surface Research
Condensed Matter Physics
Physical Chemistry
Polymer Research
Process Engineering, Technical Chemistry
Term from 2007 to 2018
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 53182490
 
Final Report Year 2020

Final Report Abstract

In an unparalleled integrated approach, the Cluster of Excellence UniCat (funded from 2007-2018), has successfully demonstrated how to pursue essential steps towards a comprehensive understanding of molecular mechanisms in single catalytic reactions and paved the way to a knowledgebased design of new chemical and biological catalysts. This could be achieved by de-termining common fundamental reaction mechanisms in homogeneous, heterogeneous, and bio-logical catalysis, thereby overcoming traditionally barriers between the various catalysis sub-disciplines. Its final research program consisted of two main areas, chemical and biological catal-ysis, dedicated to the central research questions how to achieve efficient and selective activation of small molecules (methane, carbon oxides, dihydrogen, dioxygen, water, and hydrogen perox-ide), and how to control biocatalysis in cellular systems with proteins and light. UniCat developed a more general - unifying - view on catalytic pathways in (bio)chemical transformations via detailed atomic elucidation of the elementary steps of single catalytic cycles in different environments of the chemical and biological world. Two selected key discoveries may illustrate UniCat’s research achievements which led to high national and international visibility: (i) Substantial improvement of the oxidative coupling of methane to ethylene and (ii) uncovering the origin of the oxygen-tolerance of a [NiFe] containing hydrogenase for hydrogen cycling. Both examples show that a comprehensive molecular understanding of catalytic processes can only be achieved with knowledge about the atomicscale active site structural dynamics and the reaction dynamics of the associated processes. Central for the success of all projects were tailored experimental and theoretical methods that are suitable for multi-scale analysis and in-situ monitoring of (bio)catalytic reactions in highly complex environments. This could be achieved through the tight collaborations between more than 250 researchers from the TU, FU, and HU Berlin, the UP, the Charité, the FHI and the MPI-KGF. Substantial staff developments at TU and the other participating institutions included four new professorships and the appointment of 13 junior professors and independent young researchers. Further success in promotion of young researchers was provided by UniCat’s Berlin International Graduate School of Natural sciences and Engineering (BIG-NSE), where 92 students finished their PhD (about 50% female, and 66% foreign students), and about 90% of the students obtained their PhD degree with “excellent” or “very good“ grade. Thanks to specific measures, UniCat could increase the proportion of women within the group of PIs from 4% at the beginning of UniCat (2007) to 14% (2018). Important features of sustainability include the foundation of the Gerhard Ertl Center, as the physical home of the BIG-NSE and UniCat’s administration, and the UniCat-BASF joint lab (BasCat).

Link to the final report

https://dx.doi.org/10.2314/GBV:1697188974

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