Electromagnetic field-assisted method for chemical conversion

A method for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion by applying an electromagnetic field comprising:

• performing a chemical reaction with at least one mechanistic step that is endothermic;
• providing a gaseous reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s);
• providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited active materials, wherein the catalyst comprises catalytic sites;
• and applying the electromagnetic field at simultaneous microwave frequencies specific to the interactions of reactant species as well as an electromagnetic field with at least one of the support materials, sorbent and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction, wherein the simultaneous microwave frequencies comprise a first frequency and a second frequency, wherein the first frequency selectively activates a the one or more catalytically active materials wherein the second frequency selectively activates support materials, wherein the applying the electromagnetic field step comprises selectively heating said catalytic sites, and wherein the selective heating of said catalytic sites does not increase the bulk temperature of reacting specie(s) surrounding said catalytic sites.

A method for enhancing a multi-step chemical conversion reaction by applying an electromagnetic field comprising:

• performing a chemical reaction with at least one mechanistic step that is endothermic;
• providing a gaseous reactant mixture comprising one or more reacting specie(s);
• providing a catalyst or sorbent comprising one or more support materials and one or more deposited active materials, wherein the catalyst comprises catalytic sites;
• and applying the electromagnetic field in a pulsed-power mode specific to the interactions of reactant species and electromagnetic field with at least one of the support, sorbent, and catalytically active materials in a particular chemical reaction, wherein the applied electromagnetic field simultaneously comprises a first frequency and a second frequency, wherein the first frequency selectively activates the one or more catalytically active materials wherein the second frequency selectively activates the one or more support materials, wherein the applying an electromagnetic field step comprises selectively heating said catalytic sites, and wherein the selective heating of said catalytic sites does not increase the bulk temperature of reacting specie(s) surrounding said catalytic sites.