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Japan-UK

Symposium

Catalysis for a Sustainable World
Thursday 15th and Friday 16th July, 2010
The Chemistry Centre, London, UK

Royal Society of Chemistry
International Development

Registered Charity Number: 207890

Burlington House
Piccadilly, London
W1J 0BA, UK
Tel: +44 (0)20 7437 8656
Fax: +44 (0)20 7734 1227

Thomas Graham House
Science Park, Milton Road
Cambridge, CB4 0WF, UK
Tel: +44 (0)1223 420066
Fax: +44 (0)1223 423623

Email: info@rsc.org
www.rsc.org© Royal Society of Chemistry 2010www.rsc.org
Registered Charity Number 207890

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Welcome Address
Dear Colleagues
The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the Chemical Society of Japan (CSJ) are delighted to be the joint hosts of “Catalysis fora Sustainable World”. This symposium has been organised to celebrate the signing of an International Cooperation Agreement
between the RSC and the CSJ. This landmark event represents the formalisation of an already strong partnership between the twosocieties. We intend that this agreement and inaugural symposium will serve as springboards for future CSJ-RSC activities, facilitating
and fostering other collaborative ventures.
The RSC is a learned society, concerned with advancing chemistry as a science, developing its applications, and disseminatingchemical knowledge, and a professional body that maintains professional qualifications and sets high standards of competence andconduct for professional chemists. We have over 46,000 members worldwide drawn from all areas of the chemical sciences. We are
active in industry, academia and education and play an important role in shaping science policy both in the UK and internationally.
In addition the RSC is a major publisher of research journals, magazines, databases and books that cover all areas of the chemical
sciences.
The CSJ has a history of 132 years, with a current membership of about 31,000, and is one of the most influential learned societies inJapan, covering most areas of pure and applied chemistry both in academia and industry. Our prime mission is to contribute to social
development through advancing science, developing technology, promoting industry, diffusion of knowledge relating to chemistry,and developing human resources. To pursue this mission, the CSJ holds various conferences, such as an annual meeting with 8,500
participants every spring, and seven division meetings in the fall, and publishes journals and books. The CSJ also has a long history inchemical education and outreach programs to the public.
Each of the speakers in this symposium is an international expert in the aspect of catalysis that they will present. We hope that theselectures and poster presentations will stimulate the exchange of ideas and experiences between all participants with the theme ofsustainability setting a clear and topical focus for the discussions.
The RSC and the CSJ thank each of the speakers, poster presenters and participants for their contributions to this symposium. Also,
the members of the Japanese delegation would like to thank the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation for supporting a part of theirtravel to the UK.

Professor Dave Garner
Immediate Past-President of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Professor Yasihuro Iwasawa
President of the Chemical Society of Japan

Registered Charity No. 207890

Cover image: Engineering active sites for the production of Vitamin B3. Reproduced with permission from Dr F A A Paz (University of Aveiro) and Dr Robert Raja (University of Southampton)

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Thursday 15th July 2010

Friday 16th July 2010

10.00

Coffee and Tea / Registration

10.00

10.30

Professor Yasuhiro Iwasawa, (President, Chemical Society of Japan)

Chair: Dr John Birtill (Glasgow University and Member of the RSC Applied Catalysis Group Committee)

10.50

Dr Richard Pike, (CEO, Royal Society of Chemistry)

Chair: Professor James Anderson (University of Aberdeen and Chair of the RSC Surface Reactivity and Catalysis Group Committee)
11.10
11.45

Professor Atsushi Satsuma (Nagoya University)‘‘Unique catalytic behaviour of Ag cluster in selective NOx reduction and greener chemical reactions’’
Dr Charlotte Williams (Imperial College London)‘‘Catalytic activation of renewable resources for polymer synthesis’’

12.20

Lunch and Posters

2.00

Professor Naonobu Katada (Tottori University)‘‘What controls the acid strength of zeolite? An answer from a relationship between the ammonia desorption energy
and geometric parameters’’

2.35

Dr Robert Raja (University of Southampton)‘‘Engineering active sites for sustainable catalysis’’

Coffee and Tea

10.30

Professor Mark Ormerod (University of Keele)‘‘Catalytic conversion and utilisation of waste biogas over supported nickel catalysts and solid oxide fuel cell anodes:
Catalyst deactivation, carbon deposition, sulphur tolerance and characterisation of surface species’’

11.05

Professor Keiichi Tomishige (Tsukuba University)‘‘Catalyst development for the production of biomass-derived chemicals’’

11.40

Dr Karen Wilson (University of Cardiff)‘‘Designer catalysts for biodiesel synthesis ‘‘

12.15

Lunch and Posters

Chair: Professor Andy Whiting (Durham University and Member of the RSC Applied Catalysis Group Committee)
2.00

Professor Tetsuya Shishido (Kyoto University)‘‘Photooxidation of alcohol over niobium oxide’’

2.35

Professor Chris Hardacre (Queen’s University, Belfast)‘‘Theory designed catalysts for the hydrogenation of carboxylic acids and amides at low pressure and temperature’’

3.10

Professor Mizuki Tada (Institute of Molecular Science, Japan)‘‘Direct phenol synthesis from benzene and oxygen on supported Re-Pt catalysts’’

3.10

Coffee and Tea Break

3.45

Coffee and Tea

3.35

Poster Awards

4.10

Professor Paul Pringle (University of Bristol)‘‘New phosphorus(III) ligands for efficient carbonylation catalysis’’

3.45

Dr Naoya Kumagai (The University of Tokyo)‘‘Atom-economical catalytic asymmetric reactions and their application to efficient synthesis of therapeutics’’

4.45

Dr Kazuhiko Sato (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology)‘‘Green oxidation with hydrogen peroxide’’

4.20

Professor Michael North (University of Newcastle)‘‘Synthesis at cyclic carbonates from waste CO2’’

5.30

Reception and Signing Ceremony

4.55

Close

Poster Presentations Thursday 15th July
Name

Title

P01

Hiroyuki Asakura

Structural analysis of group V, VI, VII metal compounds by means of XANES and DFT
calculation

P02

Farid Aiouache

Screening temperature and concentrations by near-infrared tomography

P03

Dr Daisuke Imao

Environmentally benign selective oxidation of a,b-unsaturated aldehydes to thecorresponding carboxylic acids with hydrogen peroxide

Poster Presentations Friday 16th July
Name

Title

P11

Dr Satoshi Muratsugu

Design of a molecularly-imprinted Ru catalyst for regulating regioselective epoxidation oflimonene

P12

Elizabeth Eterigho

Synthesis, characterization and evaluation of two forms of sulphated zirconia for
triglyceride cracking

P13

Tatsuya Nitabaru

Anti-selective catalytic asymmetric nitroaldol reaction via heterobimetallic
heterogeneous catalysis and application to asymmetric synthesis of therapeutics

P14

Naimah Ibrahim

Enhancing EPOC through catalyst surface modification

P04

Geoffrey Akien

Improving the production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose using microwave
heating

P05

Dr Yoshihiro Kon

Pt black-catalyzed selective oxidation of allylic alcohols with aqueous hydrogen peroxide
under organic solvent-free conditions

P15

Keiichiro Oshima

Direct dehydrogenative amide synthesis from alcohols and amines by Ag/Al2O3

P16

Becky Leithall

Highly selective oxidations using synergistic nanoporous catalysts

P06

Sarah Burnham

Oxidation of glycerol over titania supported gold catalysts

P17

David Xuereb

Silica supported amino acids as heterogeneous catalysts

P07

Shuichi Koso

Chemoselective hydrogenolysis of tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol over Rh/SiO2 catalysts
modified with metal oxide species

P18

Hafizuddin Yussof

Comparison of homogeneous and heterogeneous forms of quaternary ammonium astransesterification catalysts.

P08

Mark Coleman

The Salamander – A versatile tubular reactor for continuous flow chemistry

P19

Takahiro Kubo

Selective oxidation of silanes to silanols over Pd/C

P09

Simon Collinson

PRIME – polymer reprocessing by innovative metal-catalyzed enterprises

P20

W M C Sameera

Carmine D'AgostinoIn-situ 13C DEPT NMR spectroscopic studies of aerobic oxidation of benzyl alcohol overheterogeneous Pd/Al2O3 catalyst

Mechanistic and computational studies of the atom transfer radical addition ofpolyhalogenated alkanes to olefins catalyzed by copper–homoscorpionate complexes

P10

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Professor Chris Hardacre

Professor Naonobu Katada

Queen’s University, Belfast,c.hardacre@qub.ac.uk

Tottori University
katada@chem.tottori-u.ac.jp

Professor Chris Hardacre is currently Head of the School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering in Queen’s University, Belfast. He
obtained a PhD from Cambridge University in 1994 in the area of emission control catalysis and the use of surface science techniques toprobe metal-support interactions. This work was awarded the International Institute of Precious Metals award. Following the award of an
SERC research fellowship and a junior research fellowship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, he moved to Queen’s in 1995 as a lecturer inPhysical Chemistry.
In 2003, he was appointed as Professor of Physical Chemistry and took on the role of Director of Research leading the catalysis group in themultidisciplinary Centre for the Theory and Application for Catalysis (CenTACat) and in 2004 he was awarded a USAF, window on Science
visiting research fellowship. Through his work in ionic liquids research, he was awarded the Royal Society of Chemistry Encouraging
Innovation Award with Merck Chemicals Ltd and was part of the team to win the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Further and Higher
Education.
Current projects in his group range from water gas shift catalysis and the use of transients to determine gas phase mechanisms to liquid
phase hydrogenation and the conversion of biomass to fine chemicals. He has developed a strong research group in ionic liquids within
the QUILL research centre with interests in heterogeneously catalysed reactions, structural determination of ionic liquids, and species
dissolved therein, analytical aspects, electrochemistry and prediction of physical properties of ionic liquids. He has published over 210
papers and 7 patents in total.
Theory designed catalysts for the hydrogenation of carboxylic acids and amides at low pressure and temperature
Chris Hardacre, CenTACat, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Queen’s University Belfast, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast
BT9 5AG, UK
Catalytic hydrogenation is one of the most useful synthetic tools in chemical industry, in particular for the synthesis of alcohols andamines, from their corresponding carboxylic acids and amides.[1] Alcohols and amines are widely used in lubricants, resins, perfumes,
cosmetics, shampoos, conditioners, dyes, solvents, additives, anti-foam agents, corrosion inhibitors, detergents and drugs.[2] In
comparison with many carbonyl hydrogenations, the hydrogenation of carboxylic acids and amides is difficult due to the fact that the
carbonyl group has weak polarizability and has, consequently, lower reactivity. This results in the manufacturing processes requiring very
high pressures and temperatures (200-400 bar hydrogen, 200-400 °C).[3] Under these conditions, control of the selectivity of the process isdifficult. Theoretical gas phase DFT calculations were used to design a catalyst capable of operating under much milder conditions andprovide selectivity to amines and alcohols. Experimentally selective hydrogenation of carboxylic acids and amides at 5 bar hydrogen,
60 °C using Pt/TiO2 monometallic and Pt-Re/TiO2 bimetallic catalysts have been examined as predicted by the DFT calculations. For
example, the hydrogenation of small aliphatic amines using a 4%Pt-4%Re/TiO2 resulted in >90% conversion and >99% selectivity to
the corresponding amines. This has significant implications in the replacement of high energy and stoichiometric processes in the fine,
pharma and bulk chemical industries.
Literature:[1] Ucciani E., in Heterogeneous Catalysis and Fine chemicals, ed. Guisnet M., Barrault J., Bouchoule C., Duprez D., Montassier C., Pérot G.,
Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1988, p. 33.
[2] Tan Tai L. H., Rataj V. N.-, in Handbook of detergents part E: Applications, ed. Zoller U., CRC press, Taylor and Francis group, Boca Raton,
2009, p. 110.
[3] Pohl J., Carduck F.-J., Goebel G., U.S. Patent, 1990, 4935556.

Naonobu Katada received the MS degree in Nagoya University under the supervision of Professor Yuichi Murakami in 1990. Aftera period of researching for Nippon Shokubai Co. Ltd. in 1990 - 1992, he was appointed a research associate in Tottori University
in 1992. He received the PhD degree from Nagoya University in 1996. He has been an Associate Professor in Departmentof Chemistry and Biotechnology, Graduate School of Engineering, Tottori University since 1998. Throughout the periods in
Nagoya and Tottori Universities, he has collaborated with Professor Miki Niwa. He received Award of Encouragement for Young
Researchers by the Catalysis Society of Japan in 2004, and Award of Encouragement for Young Researchers by The Japan
Petroleum Institute in 2005 for the development and application of ammonia TPD (temperature-programmed desorption)
method to measure the acidic properties of solid catalysts. His current interest is on the analysis and design of acid sites on
zeolites and other combined metal oxides, applications of solid acid catalysts to alternative fuels and resources, and chemical
vapor deposition of a molecular-sieving silica overlayer using a molecular template to generate shape selectivities on catalysts
and sensors.
What controls the acid strength of zeolite? An answer from a relationship between the ammonia desorption energy
and geometric parameters.
Naonobu Katada, Department of Materials Science, Faculty of Engineering, Tottori University, Koyama-cho, Tottori 680, JapanAn ammonia IRMS-TPD (infrared/mass spectroscopy - temperature-programmed desorption) method was developed to precisely
measure the acidic properties (number and strength distribution of Brønsted and Lewis acid sites) of solids. In the case ofzeolite, the acid strength (ammonia desorption energy) of each OH group can be quantified. It was applied to various zeolites todemonstrate that the strength of acid site due to a framework SiOHAl unit was controlled by the crystallographic position andcrystal phase of zeolite. DFT (density functional theory) gave the ammonia desorption energy values in good agreement with the
IRMS-TPD experiments.
Analysis of correlations between the desorption energy and geometric parameters assumed in the DFT study showed;
1) The shorter the AlO distance, the more positive the charge of OH giving the stronger acidity.
2) The stronger the compression from both sides of SiOHAl unit, the shorter the AlO distance.
3) Other effects were negligible.
Thus, the stronger compression from both sides of SiOHAl unit brought the stronger Brønsted acidity. The origin should be theelectron withdrawing nature of Lewis Al centre connecting to SiOH. What controls the acid strength of zeolite has been clarified
based on quantitative discussion.

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Dr Naoya Kumagai
The University of Tokyonkumagai@mol.f.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Naoya Kumagai was born January 11, 1978 and raised in Ibaraki, Japan. After receiving a B. A. degree at the University of Tokyo in
2000, he carried out graduate studies at the University of Tokyo under the supervision of Professor Masakatsu Shibasaki. Following
completion of his doctoral studies in 2005, he joined the research group of Professor Stuart L. Schreiber at Harvard University
as a postdoctoral associate. He was appointed as an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo in 2006, where he pursues
the development of novel strategies in asymmetric catalysis with particular emphasis on atom-economy. His current researchinterests are in the development of new methodology in asymmetric catalysis and its application to the efficient synthesis oftherapeutics and bio-inspired dynamic process. He is a recipient of the Japan Society of Pharmaceutical Science Award for Young
Scientists.
Atom-economical catalytic asymmetric reactions and their application to efficient synthesis of therapeutics
Naoya Kumagai, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku,
Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
Recent advances in modern organic synthesis allowed for an efficient access to a broad range of complex molecules in a highly
stereocontrolled manner. The methodologies, however, usually require the stoichiometric use of activating reagents to achieve
high reactivity and chemo/stereoselectivity, thereby co-producing the unwanted wastes. In this context, we envisioned thedevelopment of atom-economical catalytic asymmetric reactions, where stereogenic centers are produced via a proton-transfer
between unactivated substrates by the action of designed catalysts, affording enantioenriched products without any waste. With
regard to recent demand for sustainable chemistry, the above-mentioned catalytic process is ideal and has received increasing
attention for the utility in environmentally benign synthesis of optically active therapeutics. Currently, our research group isaiming at the development of atom-economical asymmetric reactions based on 1) rare earth metal/amide-based ligand catalysts;
and 2) soft Lewis acid/hard Brønsted base cooperative catalysts. Some of them are under final optimization for the prospective
use in the industrial production of promising therapeutic candidates.

Professor Michael North
University of Newcastle
michael.north@ncl.ac.uk

Michael North was born in Blackburn, England in 1964. He obtained his BSc. in 1985 from the University of Durham and his D.Philin 1988 from the University of Oxford for work on the synthesis of non-racemic amino acids, carried out in the group of Professor
Sir J.E. Baldwin. After a two-year postdoctoral position in Professor G. Pattenden’s research group at the University of Nottingham,
he was appointed to his first academic post at the University of Wales at Bangor. In 1999 he moved to King’s College London
and was promoted to Professor of synthetic organic chemistry in 2001. In 2004, he moved to his current position as Professor oforganic chemistry and joint director of the University Research Centre in Catalysis and Intensified Processing at the University of
Newcastle upon Tyne. Professor North has published over 130 original papers and also holds six patents. His research interests
are centred on the design and mechanistic study of new catalysts with applications including asymmetric carbon-carbon bondformation, carbon dioxide chemistry and polymer chemistry. In 2001 he was awarded the Descartes Prize by the European
Commission for his work on asymmetric cyanohydrin synthesis using metal(salen) complexes.
Synthesis of cyclic carbonates from waste CO2
Michael North, School of Chemistry, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
World-wide production of oil and gas is expected to peak before 2020. Therefore, since over 90% of all commercially available
organic chemicals are sourced from crude oil, a major challenge for chemistry over the next 10 years is to find alternative,
sustainable feedstocks for the chemicals industry. One particularly attractive reaction in this respect is the 100% atom economical
reaction between CO2 and epoxides leading to cyclic carbonates. Cyclic carbonates are already manufactured commerciallyand have a number of applications including as electrolytes for lithium ion batteries. In this presentation, the mechanism led
development of bimetallic aluminium(salen) based catalysts which in the presence of a tetraalkylammonium cocatalyst allow
this reaction to be achieved at atmospheric pressure and room temperature will be discussed. In addition, the synthesis of
one-component versions of the catalysts, their immobilisation on inorganic supports and the use of the resulting immobilised
catalysts in gas-phase flow reactors at temperatures and pressures suitable for direct utilization of flue-gas will be described. The
tolerance of the catalysts to the NOx and SOx impurities present in flue-gas will be reported.

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Professor Mark Ormerod

Professor Paul Pringle

University of Keeler.m.ormerod@keele.ac.uk

University of Bristol
paul.pringle@bristol.ac.uk

Professor Mark Ormerod graduated in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge in 1986, and then undertook his PhD
in the Department of Chemistry at Cambridge in the area of surface chemistry. He was subsequently awarded the Cambridge
University Oppenheiner Research Fellowship in 1989. He was appointed to a Lectureship in Physical Chemistry at Keele University
in October 1992. In 1997 he was awarded an EPSRC Advanced Research Fellowship and was promoted to Professor of Clean
Technology. He was made Dean of Research for Natural Science in 2000, and became Head of the School of Chemistry andPhysics in 2003. He currently leads the Sustainable Technology and Materials Chemistry Research Group within the Institute for
the Environment, Physical Sciences and Applied Mathematics, and has been Head of the School of Physical and GeographicalSciences since 2005. His current research interests are centred on sustainable processes, heterogeneous catalysis and inorganic
materials chemistry, in particular on solid oxide fuel cells, hydrocarbon conversion catalysis and utilisation of waste biomass andbiogas. He has received substantial funding for his research from both government sources and industry, and has publishedover 120 papers in peer-reviewed journals since 1990 and given many invited lectures at international conferences and national
meetings. Professor Ormerod has also been actively involved in promoting public engagement in and awareness of science,
particularly in the area of sustainability, clean and renewable energy and developing sustainable approaches to our futureneeds, for over 10 years, with significant funding to support this work. In 2007 he formed the Science for Sustainability group at
Keele, which has a nationally leading reputation for its highly innovation work in engaging and educating young people andcommunities in environmental and sustainability issues and increasing public awareness and engagement in these issues. He has
given over 80 public lectures and been involved in many public science events.
Catalytic conversion and utilisation of waste biogas over supported nickel catalysts and solid oxide fuel cell anodes:
Catalyst deactivation, carbon deposition, sulphur tolerance and characterisation of surface species
Professor Mark Ormerod, Sustainable Technology and Materials Chemistry Group, Institute for the Environment, Physical Sciences andApplied Mathematics, Keele University
Nickel-based catalysts are relatively cheap and have excellent reforming activity. They are commonly used in catalytic reformingof hydrocarbons and in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells (SOFCs), but unfortunately their tendency to promote carbon deposition andsusceptibility to sulphur poisoning can present serious problems with catalyst deactivation. Biogas obtained from various waste
sources, including landfill sites and agricultural waste, is predominantly a methane-rich mixture of methane and carbon dioxide,
containing up to 2000 ppm of gaseous sulphur compounds, as well as other impurities. Conversion of waste biogas into synthesis
gas, with subsequent conversion of syn gas into useful chemicals or utilisation in SOFCs, can potentially be achieved through dry
reforming. However, there are several obstacles to overcome, including the variable composition of waste biogas with source
and time, carbon deposition which can be severe, especially with methane-rich biogas where excessive methane decomposition
occurs, and major issues of sulphur poisoning. Thus, development of this potentially very attractive process for utilising waste
biogas is subject to minimisation of both carbon deposition and sulphur poisoning. The reforming characteristics of biogas
mixtures over supported nickel and doped-nickel catalysts and SOFC anodes, in terms of catalyst performance, stability anddeactivation, carbon deposition and sulphur poisoning characteristics have been investigated in detail, including studying thespecies formed on the catalyst surface during reforming.

Professor Paul Pringle was born and bred in Liverpool, did a BSc at Leicester followed by PhD with Professor Bernard Shawat Leeds. He was a Lecturer at Warwick followed by Bristol and has been a Professor since 2000. His research focus is on thedesign and synthesis of phosphorus(III) ligands for homogeneous catalysis of reactions with industrial applications includinghydroformylation, hydrocyanation, asymmetric hydrogenation, alkene carbonylation and oligomerisation. Of particular interest
to his group is the chemistry of ligands in which the P-donor atom is in an unusual stereoelectronic environment. This work has
resulted in over 120 publications and 25 patents and the award of the Royal Society of Chemistry Awards for Precious Metal
Chemistry (2000) and Homogeneous Catalysis (2004).
New phosphorus(III) ligands for efficient carbonylation catalysis
Paul Pringle, School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Cantock s Close, Bristol, UK BS8 1TSSynthesis gas is currently made from coal and gas and has been an important feedstock for the organic chemicals industry
for over 70 years. The ready conversion of biomass to synthesis gas means that it will continue to be a key resource for theforeseeable future. Therefore the development of increasingly efficient catalysts for CO / H2 conversions is a high priority. In
this lecture, recent results from our laboratory on the design of phosphines for the improvement of two industrial catalytic
carbonylation processes will be described.

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Dr Robert Raja

Dr Kazuhiko Sato

University of Southampton
r.raja@soton.ac.uk

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
k.sato@aist.go.jp

Robert Raja completed his doctoral degree (Ph.D.) in 1997 at the National Chemical Laboratory (India) and was awarded aRoyal Commission for the Exhibition of 1851 Fellowship to pursue an independent postdoctoral research program, at the RoyalInstitution of Great Britain. He worked with Bayer Chemicals, Leverkusen, Germany (2000-2003) as a Research Chemist andwas instrumental in developing one of the first series of heterogeneous, organometallic chiral catalysts for fine-chemical andpharmaceutical applications. He moved to Cambridge University in 2004 as a Senior Research Associate and his research efforts
were focussed on the discovery and design of novel single-site heterogeneous catalysts. In June 2006, he was appointed as
Reader/Associate Professor in Chemistry at the University of Southampton where the focal theme of research within his Grouphas been devoted to engineering active sites for effecting industrially significant catalytic transformations, using environmentallybenign reagents, energy-renewable feedstocks and sustainable processes. Research efforts within his Group in the last four years
have led to the successful commercialization of 2 catalytic technologies.
He has won several awards and prizes, the most notable being the Erskine Fellowship (2008) awarded by the University ofCanterbury (New Zealand) and the Barrer Award (2005) by the Royal Society of Chemistry ‘in recognition of outstanding
contributions to preparative materials chemistry and their application to industrial catalysis’. He is the author of over 135
publications and lead inventor on 35 International Patents.
Engineering active sites for sustainable catalysis
Robert Raja, School of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO16 1BJ, UK
Engineering active sites in porous architectures affords a widely applicable strategic principle that offers adequate scope forthe rational design of single-site heterogeneous catalysts. Open-structure microporous solids, organometallic cluster-derived
precursors for generating nanoparticles and amino acid and protein-derived catalytically active sites for creating bio-inspiredorganocatalysts, can be ingeniously designed for effecting a number of important sustainable chemical transformations that areof high relevance in the fine-chemical, energy and pharmaceutical sectors. The diverse array of synthetic and design strategies
that we have evolved, has led to the creation of a unique range of single-sites that enable one to access mechanistic pathways
that are otherwise difficult and facilitate structure-property relationships to be established.
This lecture will outline and elucidate some of the fundamental principles of our approach for engineering active sites that play
an important role in enhancing the synergy in many catalytic oxidations, dehydrations, hydrogenations and cascade reactions. A
range of novel heterogeneous catalytic systems that facilitate shape-selective, regioselective, enantioselective and bifunctional
catalytic conversions with benign oxidants and reagents will be illustrated. Large fractions of these catalysts are ideally suited forthe era of clean technology as, they minimize the production of waste thereby maximising the atom efficiency, which results inenhanced turnovers and exceptional selectivities in many industrially significant catalytic transformations.

Kazuhiko Sato was born in Fukushima, Japan, in 1963. He received his Ph. D. degree from Tohoku University in 1990 under thesupervision of Professor Hideki Sakurai and joined the Professor Ryoji Noyori’s group at Nagoya University as an Assistant Professor.
In 2000, he was invited to the National Institute of Materials and Chemical Research (one of the predecessors of National Instituteof Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)) as a Senior Research Scientist. He became the leader of Organic Reaction
Control Group in 2005, and now is a Principal Research Scientist at AIST. Since 2008, he has been the Research Leader of national
project for green chemistry, aiming for the development of an innovative process for chemical oxidation. His current researchinterest is the development of environmentally benign oxidation reactions. In 2001, he received the Incentive Award in Synthetic
Organic Chemistry, Japan, and the Award 2008 of Tsukuba Foundation for Chemical and Bio-Technology in 2008.
Green oxidation with hydrogen peroxide
Kazuhiko Sato, Research Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Chemistry, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science andTechnology (AIST), Tsukuba Central 5, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8565, Japan
Oxidation is a core technology for converting petroleum-based materials to useful chemicals of a higher oxidation state. The
oxidation procedure must be high-yielding and highly selective without any by-products through a simple, safe operation using
a clean, well-behaving, and cheap oxidant. Aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an ideal oxidant, because the atom efficiency
is excellent and water is theoretically the sole co-product. However, H2O2 can be a clean oxidant only if it is used in a controlledmanner without organic solvents and other toxic compounds. Thus, the discovery of an efficient catalyst and the choice ofreaction conditions are the keys to realizing an ideal oxidation procedure. In this context, we developed various oxidation
reactions with aqueous H2O2 under organic solvent- and halide-free conditions, including alcohols to ketones, aldehydes, andcarboxylic acids, α, β-unsaturated aldehydes to corresponding carboxylic acids, epoxidation of olefins, 1,2-dihydroxylation of
olefins, and oxidative cleavage of cyclic olefins and ketones. These oxidation methods are high-yielding, clean, safe, operationallysimple, and cost-effective, and therefore meet with the requirements of contemporary organic synthesis. Furthermore, we havesuccessfully developed a non-phenolic, halide-free resin which has both excellent insulation performance and flexibility by clean
epoxidation process with H2O2.

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Professor Atsushi Satsuma

Professor Tetsuya Shishido

Nagoya University
satsuma@apchem.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Kyoto University
shishido@moleng.kyoto-u.ac.jp

Atsushi Satsuma received his PhD in engineering in 1989 from Nagoya University in Japan. He was a research associate (19891995), an assistant professor (1995-1998), an associate professor (1998-2003), and has been a professor at Graduate School ofEngineering, Nagoya University, Japan since April 2003. He was a postdoctoral fellow of University of New South Wales andMacquarie University in Sydney, Australia, from 1997-1998. His current research interests are in automobile catalysts, gas sensors,and environment-friendly chemical reactions.

Dr Tetsuya Shishido was born in Yokohama in 1970 and completed his MSc in 1994 and PhD Engineering in 1997 both from
Hokkaido University. From 1997-2003 he was a Research Associate at Hiroshima University before moving to Tokyo Gakugei
University in 2003 as an Associate Professor. In 2005 he took up his current position as Associate Professor at Kyoto University. His
research interests cover acid-base catalysts, oxidation catalysts, supported metal catalysts and in situ XAFS analysis. In 2009 he wasawarded The Incentive Award of the Catalysis Society of Japan and The Incentive Award of the Japan Petroleum Institute.

Unique catalytic behavior of Ag cluster in selective NOx reduction and greener chemical reactions
Atsushi Satsuma and Kenichi Shimizu, Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Furo-cho,
Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, 464-8603, Japan

Photooxidation of alcohol over niobium oxide
Tetsuya Shishido, Department of Molecular Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Kyoto 615–8510, Japan

This presentation reports unique catalytic behavior of nano- and subnano-sized Ag cluster in selective catalytic reduction of
NO by hydrocarbons (HC-SCR) and greener chemical reactions based on oxidant-free selective dehydrogenation. HC-SCR is oneof the promising technologies for removal of NOx in exhausts from diesel and lean-burn gasoline engines, and Ag/alumina isthought to be the most promising candidate for practical use. The HC-SCR activity of Ag/alumina can be significantly boosted
by the addition of hydrogen into the reaction atmospheres. By means of in-situ measurements of UV-Vis, FT/IR, and EXAFS, theimportant role and reaction mechanism of Ag cluster on the hydrogen-assisted HC-SCR are clarified. The formation of Ag clusters
and the higher catalytic activity were related to formation of Ag-hydride and that of hydrogen peroxide-like species on Ag cluster,
respectively. Knowing these unique catalytic behaviour of Ag cluster, our research group applied Ag cluster supported on alumina
as solid recyclable catalyst for greener chemical reactions, such as oxidant-free dehydrogenation of alcohols, direct C-C crosscoupling of alcohols, and direct dehydrogenative amide synthesis.

Photooxidations of alcohols to carbonyl compounds proceed selectively at a low temperature over niobium oxide (Nb2O5)
without organic solvents. Although Nb2O5 is not able to absorb light at > 390 nm wavelengths, the photooixdation of 1-pentanol
proceeded under irradiation up to ca. 480 nm. This observation indicates that the photo-activation mechanism of alcohol overNb2O5 is different from the classical electron transfer mechanism found in semiconductor photocatalysis (the formation of an
excited electron in the conduction band and the positive hole in the valence band). On the basis of FT-IR and ESR measurements,
the following mechanism is proposed: alcohol is adsorbed onto Nb2O5 as an alcoholate species in the dark. Alcoholate adsorbed
on Nb2O5 is activated by transferring an electron to the conduction band reducing Nb5+ to Nb4+, and leaving a hole on thealcoholate. The formed alkenyl radical is converted to a carbonyl compound. The product is desorbed and then the reduced Nb4+
sites are re-oxidized by the reaction with molecular oxygen. The rate-determining step of the photooxidation of alcohol overNb2O5 is the process of desorption of the formed carbonyl compound.

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14 | Japan-UK Symposium

Professor Mizuki Tada
Institute of Molecular Sciencemtada@ims.ac.jp

Prof. Mizuki Tada was born in 1979 in Tokyo, Japan. She received her Ph.D. from the Department of Chemistry at The Universityof Tokyo in 2005 under the supervision of Prof. Yasuhiro Iwasawa. In 2004, she became an assistant professor in Department ofChemistry at The University of Tokyo and promoted to an associate professor in 2008. In 2008, she moved to the Institute for
Molecular Science in Japan. Her current research interests are the molecular-level design of heterogeneous catalyst surfaces using
supported metal complex, molecular imprinting, in-situ characterization of heterogeneous catalysts, and time-resolved XAFS.
Direct phenol synthesis from benzene and oxygen on supported Re-Pt catalysts
Mizuki Tada, Institute of Molecular Science, Myodaiji Area, 38 Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
Phenol is one of the most important chemicals in industry and it has been produced by three-steps reaction cumene process.
Direct phenol synthesis from benzene and oxygen is one of the most desirable catalytic reactions but there have been no
catalysts to exhibit good phenol yield.
In 2006, we have found that the chemical vapor deposition of CH3ReO3 and subsequent treatment with NH3 produced aN-interstitial Re10 cluster in the pore of HZSM-5 zeolite, which was highly selective for the direct phenol synthesis using O2 as
an oxidant. Recently, we have succeeded in preparing novel Re-Pt catalysts supported on NH4-ZSM-5 zeolite and achieving aremarkable catalytic performance (benzene conversion: 28% and phenol selectivity: 93%). The preparation of the supported Re-Pt
catalysts, the structures of catalytically active species, and catalytic performances for the direct phenol synthesis will be presented.

Professor Keiichi Tomishige
Tsukuba University
tomi@tulip.sannet.ne.jp

Keiichi Tomishige received his B.Sc., M.S. and Ph.D. from the Graduate School of Science, Department of Chemistry, Universityof Tokyo with Prof. Y. Iwasawa. During his Ph.D. course in 1994, he moved to the Graduate School of Engineering, University ofTokyo as a research associate and worked with Prof. K. Fujimoto. In 1998, he became a lecturer, and then he moved to Institute ofMaterials Science, University of Tsukuba as a lecturer in 2001. Since 2004 he has been an associate professor, Graduate School ofPure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba. In addition, since 2008, he also has been a principal investigator, International
Centre for Materials Nanoarchitectonics Satellite (MANA), National Institute for Materials Sciences (NIMS) and University ofTsukuba, and a research director, Core Research Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology
Agency (JST). His research interests are in the development of heterogeneous catalysts for the conversion of biomass, natural gas,and CO2.
Catalyst development for the production of biomass-derived chemicals
Keiichi Tomishige, Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1, Tennodai, Tsukuba,
Ibaraki 305-8573, Japan
Utilization of biomass as a renewable raw material will gain importance in the industrial production of chemical substances
for sustainability and as a substitute for petroleum for energy production. Since biomass-related raw materials usually havehigh oxygen content, useful oxygenates such as diols will be one of the target chemicals derived from biomasses. In particular,
the diols with a linear carbon-carbon chain and carbons at both edges with the OH group have been used as monomers for
production of polyesters and polyurethanes. Here, development of catalysts and catalytic reactions for the production of thediols from renewable resources is reported. The target diols are 1,3-propanediol, 1,5-penetanediol and 1,6-hexanediol, andwe are developing the heterogeneous hydrogenolysis catalysts for glycerol to 1,3-propanediol, tetrahydrofurfury alcohol to
1,5-pentanediol, and tetrahydropyran-2-methanol to 1,6-hexanediol.

Japan-UK Symposium | 17

16 | Japan-UK Symposium

Dr Charlotte Williams

Dr Karen Wilson

Imperial College London
c.k.williams@imperial.ac.uk

University of Cardiff
wilsonk5@cardiff.ac.uk

Charlotte K Williams is a senior lecturer in chemistry at Imperial College London and an EPSRC advanced research fellow. Her
research interests are in coordination chemistry (Zn(II), Y(III) and Al(III)), homogeneous catalysis, polymerisation catalysis,
degradable polymer synthesis, the activation and use of renewable resources. Her research has been recognized by the RSC
Energy, Environment and Sustainability Early Career Award 2009, The RSC Meldola Medal for 2005 and the RSC Laurie VergnanoAward in 2001.
She was appointed at Imperial in 2003 after working as a postdoctoral research associate at Cambridge University (with Profs. A.B.
Holmes FRS and R.H. Friend FRS) on the synthesis of electroactive polymers and at the University of Minnesota (with Profs. M.A.
Hillmyer and W.B. Tolman) on the synthesis of biodegradable polymers. She received her PhD (Profs. V.C. Gibson and N.J. Long) and
BSc in Chemistry from Imperial College London
Catalytic activation of renewable resources for polymer synthesis
Charlotte Williams, Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK
Using renewable resources, such as biomass or carbon dioxide, as feedstocks for the chemical industry offers exciting
opportunities due to concerns regarding the sustainability, supply, environmental impact and cost of petrochemicals. Currently,
almost all commodity plastics derive from petrochemicals; and after use, the vast majority end up in landfill sites where they
are bulky and pervasive. There is, therefore, a significant drive to prepare replacement degradable, commodity polymers
from renewable resources. This lecture will describe the preparation and application of catalysts to enable the activation ofcarbohydrates or carbon dioxide for use as monomers in polymer synthesis. In particular the preparation of new catalysts, basedon yttrium complexes, which are highly active and controlled (including Stereocontrolled) initiators for lactide ring opening
polymerisation will be described. Lactide derives from lactic acid which is harvested from corn or sugar beet. More recently,
methods to activate D-glucose to prepare functionalised lactones and polyesters have been developed. Finally, investigations
into new catalysts for the copolymerization of carbon dioxide and epoxides will be described. We have recently prepared a seriesof bimetallic catalysts which show very high activities at low pressures of carbon dioxide. Furthermore, some of these species
show high air and moisture tolerance.

Karen is a Reader in Physical Chemistry in the School of Chemistry at Cardiff University, where she is a member of the Cardiff
Catalysis Institute. Karen was first appointed to a lectureship in 1999 at the University of York, following PhD and post-doctoral
research in Cambridge (1993-98) in heterogeneous catalysis with Prof Richard Lambert. She is co-founder of the Surface
Chemistry and Catalysis group which relocated from York to Cardiff in October 2009. Karen has authored over 100 papers, andin 2001 her work on new mesoporous solid catalysts for fine chemicals syntheses was recognised by the 'Research of the FutureAward' from the Nanotechnology in Catalysis Symposium at the 221st ACS National Meeting. She is particularly interested
in alternative clean chemical technologies and the use of renewable resources in industrial liquid phase processes. She has
been active in the design of new catalysts for biodiesel synthesis, for which her work was noted as a Nature research highlight(Nature 2004, 430, 416), and in 2006 Karen was a recipient of an EPSRC Chemistry-Chemical Engineering discipline hop award.
In recognition of her work in clean technology she was also one of 5 top UK young Green Chemists invited by the RSC in 2007
and 2008 to present her work in this area at the joint Japanese Chemical Society/EPSRC-RSC organised Green and Sustainable
Chemistry Symposium in Osaka and Belfast.
Designer catalysts for biodiesel synthesis
Karen Wilson, Cardiff Catalysis Institute, School of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AT, UK
The combination of dwindling oil reserves and growing concerns over carbon dioxide
emissions and associated climate change is driving the urgent development ofclean, sustainable energy supplies. Biodiesel is non-toxic and biodegradable, with thepotential for closed CO2 cycles and thus vastly reduced carbon footprints comparedwith petroleum fuels. However, current manufacturing routes employing soluble
catalysts are very energy inefficient and produce copious amounts of contaminatedwater waste. This presentation will highlight the significant progress made in recent
years towards developing tuneable solid acid and base catalysts for biodiesel synthesis,
which offer several process advantages by eliminating the need for quench steps (andassociated waste water), while allowing operation in a continuous reactor. Issues tobe discussed include the introduction of non-food based feedstocks and technicaladvances in catalyst and reactor design required to ensure that biodiesel remains a key
player in the renewable energy sector for the 21st century. In particular the benefitsof designing porous networks comprising interconnected hierarchical macroporous
mesoporous channels (Figure 1) to enhance mass-transport properties of viscous plantoils during biodiesel synthesis will be addressed.