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Abstract

Introduction: Heterogeneous catalysis is the science and technology of changing the rates of chemical reactions. The technology is needed to produce all liquid fuels, polymers, functional materials, and artificial biological molecules. Catalysis is engaged with the making and breaking of specific chemical bonds. The specificity of the process on terms of chemo- and regioselectivity leading to economical and sustainable production processes is a sensitive function of the local electronic structure of the interaction zone of a few atoms between reactantants and catalyst. The catalytic reaction depends, however, not only on the molecular properties of the system, but also in several domains of space and time on the properties of the catalyst-reactor system with respect to transport of energy and materials. The correlation between catalytic performance and molecular properties is thus weakend and can not be used as guide for catalyst development. High-throughput experimentation (HTHE) and combinatorial methods have been advocated to remedy the lack of empirical optimization strategies. A knowledge-based strategy is required to define compositional libraries and experimental procedures with a reasonable success. Testing nanostructered materials by high-throughput techniques is a highly promising possibility.