Pulsed activation in heterogeneous catalysis

This paper describes a novel form of dynamic operation named pulsed activation method. It can be viewed as a form of periodic operation in which very fast temperature pulsing is used to induce chemical reactions directly and locally as needed. The main goal in this method is to activate catalytic reactions at will and within a time scale such that physical transport related dynamics cannot follow. A proof of principle experimental setup has been built to realize pulsed activation on heterogenous catalytic reactions. The temperature of the catalytic surface is pulsed at higher frequencies and amplitudes than have been reported before. As an example, oxidation of CO over a Pt catalyst is investigated.