Catalysis is at the heart of the chemical industry, which uses solid catalysts for the large-scale production of commodity chemicals. Catalysis at surfaces is also the basis for the ongoing transition to a sustainable energy supply, which requires molecules such as hydrogen, ammonia or methanol to store energy in chemical bonds, and environmental protection equally relies on heterogeneous catalysis.

Catalysis at surfaces is a truly interdisciplinary field, which requires profound knowledge from chemistry, physics and engineering as provided by this textbook. All essential tools are described ranging from the synthesis and modification of porous solids over bulk- and surface-sensitive characterization techniques to currently applied theoretical methods. A close-up to the important aspects of surface catalysis is provided, which comprises the established knowledge about mechanisms and active sites, promotors and poisons in redox and acid-base catalysis.

This advanced textbook is recommended for Master and PhD students, for whom it provides the fundamentals and all relevant aspects of catalyst synthesis, characterization and application in suitable reactors. It is not only thermal catalysis that is covered in depth, but also photo- and electrocatalysis as emerging fields in the Energiewende.

Interdisciplinary approach, catalysis from a chemical and materials science view

definitions and basics on synthesis, characterization, application and computational methods