Hugo Petitjean

The French Conference on Catalysis—FCCat 1

Catalysis in France is an adventure with a long tradition illustrated with major discoveries and famous scientists. More than 100 years ago, Paul Sabatier (Nobel Laureate in 1912) and JeanBaptiste Senderens discovered the activity of finely divided metals in hydrogenation of olefins and other unsaturated compounds; these results laid the groundwork for today’s industrial catalysis. In the 1920’s, the French Engineer Eugene Houdry started his research on the production of gasoline from lignite in France, then he moved to United States and opened the way to the catalytic conversion of crude petroleum to high-octane gasoline. Boris Imelik was a pioneer in the use of physico-chemical techniques for catalyst characterization. FranÅois Gault, a brilliant French scientist, worked on catalytic mechanisms. We pay tribute to his memory by awarding the Francois Gault Lectureship, the highest European distinction in the field of catalysis (EFCATS lecture series). Prettre, Germain, Teichner, Maurel, Barthomeuf, among others, fascinated by catalysis, played a major role in the development of catalysis at national and international levels. This tradition continued with Yves Chauvin’s innovations, Nobel Laureate in 2005, who discovered the metathesis mechanism and Henri Kagan’s pioneer work in asymmetric catalysis. France contributed to the promotion and the development of the global catalysis community by organizing in Paris two editions of the International Congress on Catalysis : the 2 ICC (1960) and 13 ICC (2004) and two editions of Europacat : the first (1993-Montpellier) and the 13 (2013-Lyon) editions. Today, the younger generation of French researchers and engineers in catalysis work in more than 30 academic laboratories and research institutes. They are sharing the same enthusiasm and flame and have understood the role that catalysis has to play to face the main challenges of our society.

French Catalysis and Much More at FCCat 1

The very first edition of the French Conference on Catalysis (FFCat 1) took place in Fr8jus, French Riviera, from May 23rd to May 27th 2016 (please visit http://fccat.sciencesconf.org for more information). The idea of the project was born more than two years ago, from an impulse of the Catalysis Division (DivCat) of the French Chemical Society (SCF), and thanks to the historical task force of the Groupe d’Etudes sur la Catalyse organization (GECat). Indeed, each year since 1970, the Frenchspeaking catalysis (mainly heterogeneous) community gathers around three specific themes chosen by the GECat executive board. Around 100 participants are present each year, with a large contribution of young researchers, in a very convivial atmosphere. For the first time this year, this event, renamed FCCat, was made open to an international audience and to a large spectrum of topics, from homogeneous to heterogeneous catalysis, from fundamental to applied questions. FCCat was organized by members of the GECat and DivCat executive boards, with the participation of the Industrial Chemistry Division (DCI) of SCF and Groupe FranÅais des Z8olithes (GFZ). An international advisory board was also solicited for help in the building of the scientific program. About 240 participants joined at FCCat 1, which appeared to be the ideal scale for very intense scientific discussions in a convivial atmosphere. 35 % of non-French participants were present, and the industrial participation was very strong (22 %), promoted by the “half-day industry” session (Thursday 26th morning) devoted to relationships between industry, academia, and young researchers (see below). Eight invited speakers honored us with outstanding presentations of their most advanced scientific results. They gave inspiration to scientists displaying 60 oral presentations in a single session, and 108 posters in two sessions. Most participants agreed with the fact that the scientific program was very dense but they also appreciated the dynamism of the scientific discussions during the single session. Ten exhibitors (TeamCat, Micromeritics, Equilabo, PID, Specs, Hiden Isochema, Setaram, Zinsser Analytic, Courtage Analyses Services, and Sasol) had booths in the coffee-break room to present their products. The sun was also present but did not discourage the participants to attend the talks and discuss in front of the posters! It just participated to the conviviality of the event, permitting long discussions during nice meals and in the cool evenings.