Meeting Program — January 2017
Ahmad Moini
BASF Corporation
Abstract — Automotive exhaust conditions present unique challenges for the design of effective catalysts. In addition to the need for catalytic activity over a wide temperature range, the catalyst must show durability towards extreme hydrothermal aging conditions. The use of zeolitic materials under such conditions is especially challenging due to the vulnerability of zeolites to steam aging. The BASF discovery of the Cu-CHA catalyst for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx demonstrated an effective balance between favorable active sites and zeolite framework durability. It also paved the way for the implementation of urea SCR as the key approach for NOx reduction in diesel vehicles. This presentation will highlight the development of Cu-CHA as the leading technology for diesel emission applications. Specific focus will be placed on the synthesis and structural features of the zeolite. In addition, there will be a discussion of specific characterization and modeling approaches focusing on the unique attributes of the metal active sites and the interaction of these metal species with the zeolite framework.
Biography — Dr. Ahmad Moini is a Research Fellow at BASF Corporation in Iselin, NJ. He obtained his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Texas A&M University, and held a postdoctoral appointment at Michigan State University. Dr. Moini started his career at Mobil Research & Development Corporation (now ExxonMobil), where he conducted research on microporous materials. With a focus on exploratory zeolite synthesis, he studied the mechanism of zeolite crystallization and the role of specific classes of organic directing agents in the formation of various zeolite frameworks. He joined Engelhard Corporation (now BASF) in 1996. Since then, his primary research interests have been in the area of materials synthesis, directed at a range of catalytic and functional applications. He applied high throughput methods for the synthesis and evaluation of catalytic materials, and used these tools for the development of new products. A significant part of his work has been directed towards catalysts for environmental applications. These efforts, in collaboration with the extended BASF team, led to the discovery and development of Cu-CHA catalyst for selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NOx from diesel vehicles. He holds 48 US patents relating to various aspects of materials and catalyst development.