Catalysis: Fundamentals and Applications for the Environment and the Circular Economy

The course aims to establish a fundamental understanding of chemical transformations driven by homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts, as well as biological catalysts (enzymes). To achieve this, theoretical concepts of catalysis will be presented alongside real-world examples of significant catalytic processes in environmental protection and industrial chemistry for a sustainable economy.

The student will be able to acquire kinetic and molecular knowledge on the reactive processes that occur in the presence of "third elements" (homogeneous, enzymatic and heterogeneous catalysts) that increase the reaction rate and improve the selectivity of the reactive processes. These concepts will be useful for tackling the critical design of catalysts for chemical industrial processes.