Associate Professor 
Department of Chemical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In our efforts to shift away from traditional petroleum-based raw materials to supply fuels and chemicals, alternative carbon sources, such as biomass, methane, and carbon dioxide have emerged as attractive feedstock options.   However, their unique chemical makeup has created daunting conversion challenges that require the development of a new generation of robust, active, and selective catalysts to promote selective bond-breaking events.  In this respect, the precise placement of chemical functionality surrounding an active site can generate high degrees of catalytic activity and selectivity. Biological catalysts often exploit this feature to catalyze reactions under mild conditions. For example methane mono-oxygenase is capable of oxidizing C-H bonds in methane and other alkanes at room temperature using iron pairs arranged in Fe-O-Fe cores. In the context of inorganic heterogeneous catalysis, the concept of catalytic pairs, whereby an active site’s reactivity is enhanced by the presence of another active site in close proximity, is a powerful yet relatively unexplored area of research. In this lecture, I will discuss the use of combined reactivity and characterization tools to study, understand, and ultimately design nanostructured, metalloenzyme-like zeolitic materials featuring catalytic cooperativity. First, the use of Lewis acid zeolites as catalysts for the conversion of biomass-derived oxygenates will be discussed. Specific examples will highlight the role that intra-pore catalytic pairs play either in enhancing the activation of targeted functional groups, achieving cooperative catalysis, or promoting one-pot cascade reaction sequences. Lewis/Brønsted acid pairs will shown to catalyze hydrolysis/transfer hydrogenation cascades for the conversion of furfural into gamma-valerolactone, while Lewis acid/base pairs will be shown to cooperatively catalyze C-C coupling.  Second, the use of copper-exchanged zeolites for the tandem oxidation and carbonylation of methane into acetic acid will be discussed as an example of cooperativity between redox-active and acid sites.

Short Bio

Prof. Román was born in Mexico City, Mexico. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania in 2002 and completed his Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, also in Chemical Engineering, under the guidance of Prof. James Dumesic.  At UW he worked on developing catalytic strategies to convert biomass-derived carbohydrates into platform chemicals.  Before joining the department of Chemical Engineering at MIT as an Assistant Professor, he completed a two-year postdoc at Caltech, working with Prof. Mark E. Davis on the synthesis of zeolites and mesoporous materials for the activation of small molecules and biomass-derived oxygenates. Prof. Roman’s has been awarded the SHPE Outstanding Young Investigator and the NSF CAREER awards.

Prof. Román’s research lies at the interface of heterogeneous catalysis and materials design.  His group applies a wide range of synthetic, spectroscopic, and reaction engineering tools to study the chemical transformation of molecules on catalytic surfaces.  A strong emphasis is placed on the application of catalytic materials to tackle relevant problems associated with sustainable energy, biofuels, and renewable chemicals.   Current efforts are geared toward designing water-tolerant solid Lewis acids, investigating cooperative effects of catalytic pairs, and engineering transition metal carbides and nitrides as replacements for critical materials. 

http://www.romangroup.mit.edu/