Collaborative Research Center (CRC) “Catalysis” receives funding for the third time

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is funding the Collaborative Research Center “Molecular Heterogeneous Catalysis in Defined Confined Geometries” (CRC 1333) for a third funding period. This enables the catalysis researchers at the University of Stuttgart and their partners to continue and further advance their successful work on developing sustainable chemical processes. The funding for the final phase of the CRC amounts to approximately EUR 9.2 million.

“I am pleased that the DFG is once again recognizing the long-standing successful research of Michael Buchmeiser and his team by extending Collaborative Research Center 1333,” says Professor Peter Middendorf, Rector at the University of Stuttgart. “This Collaborative Research Center contributes to improving the sustainability and resource efficiency of industrial production more in many areas. And it demonstrates how excellence and interdisciplinarity give rise to new solutions that provide tangible benefits for society.”

“Catalytic reactions form the backbone of modern chemical synthesis and are central to sustainable industrial production,” says Professor Michael Buchmeiser, spokesperson for the CRC 1333 and an expert in macromolecular materials and fiber chemistry at the University of Stuttgart’s Institute for Polymer Chemistry (IPOC). "When developing new catalytic systems, we look to nature and take biological systems—such as enzymes—as our model.They control chemical reactions with high specificity and efficiency. This level of precision has so far often remained unattained in chemical catalysis.” This is precisely where CRC 1333 focuses its work: the researchers aim to replicate enzyme functions. To achieve this, organic and organometallic catalysts are embedded within tailor-made solid materials with very fine pores. This creates spatially confined reaction environments that deliberately mimic key properties of enzymes – such as a finely tuned local environment and spatial control over reactions.

The work within the CRC combines materials development, catalysis research, and state-of-the-art analytics and simulation. During the first two funding periods, the researchers succeeded in systematically demonstrating, quantifying, and understanding the mechanisms of the described confinement effects for the first time. In doing so, they achieved, among other things, unusually high or even reversed selectivities, meaning that the reactions not only produced the desired but also generated alternative products that are rarely observed under conventional conditions. In addition, the catalytic reactions proceeded faster and more efficiently. The team also developed novel mesoporous materials with unprecedented structural precision, as well as a comprehensive set of experimental and theoretical methods.

In the third funding period, the researchers aim to consolidate the concepts they have developed and lay the groundwork for future applications in sustainable chemical production. The next crucial step is the targeted use of the discovered confinement effects in challenging and previously hard-to-access catalytic reactions. “The results achieved in the first two funding periods now enable us to deliberately use confining cavities inspired by nature to realize complex chemical reactions,” explains Buchmeiser. The team aims to systematically translate the insights gained into high-performance catalytic systems and to open up new reaction pathways.

A particular focus is on sustainable chemical processes, especially the use of carbon dioxide as a raw material. At the same time, the experts aim to evaluate the developed concepts under realistic conditions. The use of confinement effects is intended to be established as a general design principle in catalysis. They serve as a versatile tool for enabling challenging reactions and potentially unlocking new transformations that have not been accessible to date.

In the third funding period, the support of early-career researchers and structured research data management continue to play a central role. Another key focus is the expansion of science communication. The research consortium emphasizes direct engagement with the public and, in collaboration with the Fehling Lab at the University of Stuttgart, offers courses for secondary school students. Close collaboration with other research consortia at the Stuttgart site further enhances the program’s international visibility.

About CRC 1333
The German Research Foundation has been funding CRC 1333 “Molecular Heterogeneous Catalysis in Defined Confined Geometries” since 2018. The funding for the third and final phase amounts to approximately EUR 9.2 million. The main focus is at the Faculty of Chemistry and Materials Science at the University of Stuttgart, and it connects numerous research groups at the University of Stuttgart with partners, including the Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research in Stuttgart, the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research in Mülheim an der Ruhr, as well as the universities of Paderborn, Marburg, Bochum, and Ulm.