Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis

Kiyotaka Asakura

doi:10.1515/ci.2014.36.2.30b

Article Publicly Available

Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis

Kiyotaka Asakura

Published/Copyright: March 27, 2014

Published by

Become an author with De Gruyter Brill

Author Information

From the journal Chemistry International Volume 36 Issue 2

The Sixteenth International Symposium on Relations between Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis Conference (ISHHC-16), chaired by Professor Atsushi Fukuoka (Hokkaido University), was held in Sapporo, Japan 4-9 August, 2013, under the sponsorship of International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), the Science Council in Japan (JSC) and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS). The Honorary Chair was Professor Yasuhiro Iwasawa.

The ISHHC is a series of symposia on catalysis starting in Brussels, Belgium (1974), followed by Lyon, France (1977), Gröningen, The Netherlands (1981), Asilomar, USA (1983), Novosibirsk, Russia (1986), Pisa, Italy (1989), Tokyo, Japan (1992), Balatonfüred, Hungary (1995), Southampton, UK (1999), Lyon, France (2001), Evanston, USA (2003), Florence, Italy (2005), Berkeley, USA (2007), Stockholm, Sweden (2009), and Berlin, Germany (2011) every two or three years. Catalysis investigation is the most important issue to support sustainable development. Aims of ISHHC are to link different fields of catalysis: heterogeneous, homogeneous and enzyme, and to understand catalysis on the molecular level. Recent advances in instrumentation, synthesis and reaction studies will permit the molecular–nanoscopic scale characterization of the catalyst systems for similar reactions and the development of molecular-level integration and correlations of these three different catalysis fields. To further this goal we aim to uncover new aspects and common concepts that emerge from the molecular–nanoscopic scale studies of active structures and dynamics of the three types of catalysts, achieving catalyst design and synthesis and addressing key issues of catalytic activity and selectivity.

We had 503 participants from about 30 countries including scientists from Africa, South America and Asian countries such as Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Brazil and Nigeria.

In this ISHHC-16 we emphasized the interdisciplinary nature of the field. The conference logo shows a symbol mark of ISHHC-16. The Chinese character in the background of the center of symbol mark means a strong linkage. We have invited following seven plenary lecturers, top-class scientists in each field; Prof. Keiji Morokuma (Theoretical chemistry), Prof. Gabor A. Somorjai (Heterogeneous catalyst), Prof. Pierre Dixneuf (Homogeneous catalyst), Prof David Milstein (Homogeneous catalyst), Prof. Krzysztof Matyjaszewski (Polymer catalyst), Prof. Hans-J. Freund (Surface science), and Prof. Christophe Coperet (Heterogeneous catalyst). Prof. Somorjai stressed the importance of stronger collaborations in the investigation of biological systems, such as enzymes. We invited two keynote lecturers, Prof Osamu Ishitani speaking about photoreduction of CO₂ by biomimetic catalyst and Prof. Alexander Katz speaking about bioinspired catalysts.

The oral sessions were composed of two parallel sessions. We had 96 general oral talks and 17 keynote lectures on the following eight topics: 1. New Concept and Mechanism, 2. New Methods and Characterization, 3. Advanced Materials for Catalysis, 4. Catalysis for Green and Sustainable Chemistry, 5. Catalysis for Fine Chemicals, 6. Bio-inspired Catalysts, 7. Energy and Environmental Catalysts, and 8. New Industrial Catalyses and Processes. In each oral session, lectures of the homogeneous and heterogeneous scientists were completely mixed up so that we could enhance the interaction between different fields and deepen our knowledge about catalysts by looking from the different sides.

In the poster session we had 230 posters including 31 recent results reports (RRR). In order to encourage young scientists we awarded 13 young scientists: M. P. Conley, K. Takahashi, C. Jiang, O. Verho, E. Watanabe, S. Kityakarn, Y. Satoh, J.-S. Huang, Y. Nagata, M. Baldofski, M. Gao, K. Fukumoto, and M.M. Nigra.

Three evening sessions for specialized topics were held in order to enhance the intensive discussion. On the first day we had an industrial session where four big Japanese chemical companies presented their challenges in developing new catalysts. The evening session on the second day was concerned with the global collaboration to establish the sustainable society using catalysts. Six professors representing each field have discussion about the possibilities of our international collaboration. Prof. Eiichi Negishi, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry, 2010, happened to participate in the second day’s evening session and give his comments. On the third day Prof. Naoto Chatani organized a session about molecular activation, a new kind of catalyst where five professors were invited. They were all very interesting sessions and many people took part in the session until late at night.

In conclusions the ISHHC -16 ended in success. The proceedings will be published in Topics in Catalysis as a special issue in 2014. The next ISHHC-17 will be held in Utrecht, Netherland, organized by Prof. Bert Weckhuysen. Finally we heartily express our thanks to IUCr for their kind sponsorship.

www.shokubai.org/ishhc16/

Published Online: 2014-03-27

Published in Print: 2014-03

Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ci.2014.36.2.30b