Project Description: The research aims of my project include studying the selective amination of renewable alcohols using zeolite catalysts, with a particular focus on understanding how solvation effects at solid-liquid interfaces influence catalytic performance. Zeolites, with their microporous aluminosilicate structures, provide confined environments that alter the behavior of reactive species and transition states. This confinement, along with non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding within zeolite pores, can significantly impact reaction rates, selectivity, and the stabilization of intermediates in alcohol amination processes. After synthesizing various aluminosilicate zeolites with controlled structural features, the project will focus on investigating the reaction kinetics of alcohol amination to form primary, secondary, and tertiary amines. The effects of solvent reorganization and pore filling on the catalytic activity will be examined to better understand how the microenvironment within zeolite pores effect reaction dynamics. For comprehensive characterization, methods such as 27Al NMR will provide insights into the coordination of aluminum in the zeolite framework, XRD will confirm crystallographic structure and phase purity, and FTIR will be employed to monitor changes in surface intermediates and solvent organization during catalytic reactions.