主讲人简介：
Dr. Muhammad Umar Farooq received his MS degree (2013) from IIUI, Pakistan, and PhD degree (2018) from University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, and after completing the postdoctoral training from Sichuan University (2019), East China University of Science and Technology, China (2023) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China (2025), he then joined Chengdu University, China as a Research Associate Fellow. He has published more than 45 SCI papers in international journal including Advanced Materials, CEJ, Fuel, CES and AIChe. His research interests include catalyst design, biomass conversion, engineering of bioinspired interfacial materials, energy storage devices, nano-assemblies, nanomachines, nanomotors, flexible sensors, nanomedicine, reaction engineering, and industrial applications.
主讲内容简介：
This lecture presents a critical overview of the role of metal and metal oxide-based catalysts in the sustainable synthesis of methyl methacrylate (MMA), a high-value monomer for poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with applications across automotive, construction, electronics, and biomedical sectors. With the global MMA market projected to exceed $16 billion by 2033, conventional industrial routes particularly the acetone cyanohydrin (ACH) process remains dominant but face serious sustainability challenges due to their reliance on toxic hydrogen cyanide, corrosive sulfuric acid, and the generation of large quantities of ammonium bisulfate waste. In response, this work focuses on direct oxidative esterification (DOE) of methacrolein with methanol and molecular oxygen as a green, one-step alternative. A range of heterogeneous catalytic systems is systematically evaluated. Supported gold nanoparticles, especially Au on mixed metal oxides such as Al₂O₃/CeO₂, achieve exceptional performance, with near-complete methacrolein conversion (~98–99%) and MMA selectivity up to 95%, attributed to strong metal-support interactions, abundant surface oxygen species, and the identification of Au edge sites as primary active centers via DFT calculations. Key challenges such as catalyst deactivation via organic deposition, metal leaching, and nanoparticle aggregation are addressed through optimized support engineering and regeneration strategies. Overall, this lecture highlights that rationally designed metal and metal oxide catalysts enable a more efficient, selective, and sustainable pathway for MMA production, bridging fundamental mechanistic insight with practical catalyst development for industrial application.
时间：2026年06月22日9:30-10:30
地点：3教3403
主办单位：高等研究院
