ABSTRACT
Many of these materials are solids that display diffraction patterns, and this situation places the science of diffraction in the position of providing pivotal information in the development of catalysts or engineered materials. (Indeed, a catalyst is a material engineered to enhance a specific reaction.) In some cases, where catalytic processes are directly dependent upon the three-dimensional structure of the catalyst, such as in molecular sieves, there is a direct and straightforward correlation between structural information derived from diffraction data and catalyst performance. For catalysts that enhance reactions by surface interactions, as is the case for many heterogeneous reactions, the correlation between performance and bulk structure is more elusive. But even for this latter case, information gleaned from diffraction experiments can provide useful insights into catalytic processes. Finally, materials engineered to provide specific bulk properties, such as resistance to reduction, or oxide conductivity, are amenable to diffraction studies because these properties are often directly dependent upon structure.
