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Molecular mechanism of heterogeneous catalysis

The 2007 Nobel Prize in chemistry

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Abstract

Gerhard Ertl, the German physical chemist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry for the year 2007, for his contributions in the area of surface science. His painstaking work led to a microscopic understanding of heterogeneous catalysis in industrially important chemical reactions. These include the Haber-Bosch process for the production of ammonia, and the catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide.

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Suggested Reading

  1. J R Postgate, Nitrogen Fixation, Cambridge University Press, 1998.

  2. For more information on the prize announcement and related information, log on to www.nobelprize.org.

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  9. For an introduction to such non-linear phenomena, see the article: B M Deb, Mainak Sadhukhan, Sudarson Sekhar Sinha, Suchita Sengupta and Ranjit Biswas, Resonance, Vol.13, No.1, pp.54–80, 2008.

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  10. http://www.fhhi-berlin.mpg.de/surfimag/arts.htm A video named “On Platinum”, composed by P Mayers showing the variety of patterns that are formed on the Pt surface may be down-loaded from here.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India

    R. S. Swathi & K. L. Sebastian

Authors
  1. R. S. Swathi
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  2. K. L. Sebastian
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Correspondence to R. S. Swathi.

Additional information

(left) R S Swathi is a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, working with Prof. K L Sebastian. Her research interests include theoretical study of resonance energy transfer involving various donor-acceptor systems.

(right) K L Sebastian is a Professor at the Department of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science. His area of interest is theoretical chemistry.

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Swathi, R.S., Sebastian, K.L. Molecular mechanism of heterogeneous catalysis. Reson 13, 548–560 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-008-0061-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-008-0061-6

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