People

Our group investigates reactions at solid surfaces for renewable and sustainable energy applications. We are particularly focused on interfacial chemistry important in the conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals. Biomass-derived carbohydrates and lipids contain a high degree of oxygenate functionality, and it is a major challenge to develop new catalysts capable of selective conversions of the oxygenates to useful fuel and chemical products.

My research focuses on enhancing the selectivity for selective hydrogenation reaction by synthesizing singe atom and employing self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). I am also interested in electrochemical Carbon Dioxide Capture. I am co-advised by Adam Holewinski.

I'm interested in the production of useful chemicals and fuels from biomass or plastic waste. My current project is aimed at upcycling plastics. Plastics are one of the biggest sources of pollution in our world today, especially because they are not biodegradable. Specifically, I'm studying the activity of metal supported catalysts in vapour phase reactor systems for the hydrogenolysis of plastic model compounds.

My research focuses on heterogeneous catalysis in mixtures of water and oil. I am currently studying the effects of surface hydrophobicity on catalyst behavior at the liquid-liquid interface and the design of bicontinuous emulsion gels (bijels) with catalytic functionality for continuous biphasic reactive separations.

My research focuses on investigating the use of organic monolayers as a method of tuning catalysts to improve their efficiency, specificity, and durability during hydrogenation reactions important in biomass upgrading and CO2 utilization. Specifically, I am interested in methods for controlling the location, ordering, and density of SAM layers on supported metal catalysts to better understand the interactions between organic and inorganic catalyst components that give rise to improved performance.

My research focuses on catalytic reactions in the lignin-first biorefining for sustainable aviation fuel production. By conducting batch and flow reactions I’m investigating optimization pathways for the Reductive Catalytic Fractionation (RCF) of Lignin, such as the potential benefits for the use of water as a solvent and enhancing hydrodeoxygenation and hydrogenation of the lignin. All while connecting these enhancements to different natural or bioengineered lignin sources, particularly to the Poplar...

I am exploring the effects of organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on the selective catalytic oxidation pathways for small organics using a combination of IR spectroscopy, reaction data and kinetic analysis. My current focus is to investigate thiolate ligands on supported noble metal catalysts as a way to enhance selectivity in oxidation reactions.

Research description: My research is focused on efficient, renewable, and environmentally benign catalytic processes for the production of energy, as well as commodity and fine chemicals with a special interest in electrochemical routes. I’m currently researching the various potential regimes of the electro-oxidation of biomass-derived furanic compounds. My primary interest is in ultra-low potential aldehyde oxidation which simultaneously yields biomass products and anodic hydrogen.

Previous work in the group has focused on functionalization of metal oxide supported heterogeneous nanoparticle catalysts using phosphonic acids. My work focuses on implementing these techniques towards atomically-disperse metals on metal oxide supports, including electronic modifications, for reverse water gas shift reactions and direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide.

My current research is focused on gaining fundamental understanding about catalyst/ionomer interfaces in electrochemical systems. Generally, I am interested in combining electrocatalytic and thermocatalytic processes for sustainable and carbon-negative energy generation.

My research focuses on understanding vapor phase coupling reactions for the production of biofuels and biopolymers. I am also investigating the synthesis of new materials that are optimized to catalyze these reactions with higher activity and stability.

My work currently focuses on characterizing, testing, and optimizing inverted metal-metal oxide ( M@MO ) catalytic structures for industrially relevant reactions such as CO oxidation and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO). My research interests are also focused towards the development of efficient pathways for the catalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into energy-dense liquid fuels and value-added products.

Previous research in the group studied the effects of organic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) in thermal catalysis. My research applies this idea to electrocatalysis. I aim to understand the stability, activity, and selectivity of SAM-modified catalysts in an electrochemical environment.

My research focuses on the tuning of pore windows of zeolites with phosphonic acid coating to improve gas adsorptive separation. I study gas diffusion mechanism by modelling. I am also interested in simulation of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs).

Recent work done in this group showed that functionalizing metal oxide catalysts with SAMs can enhance alcohol dehydration, a relevant biofuel upgrading reaction. My project is focused on how the position of the functional group within the reactant molecule conditions the effect that SAMs produce, to have a better understanding of the mechanism and its possible implications.

I am interested in studying hybrid systems of biological and synthetic catalysis for the production of renewable fuels and chemicals. Specifically, I am studying enzyme-inspired monolayers that can catalyze biochemically relevant reactions under non-ambient conditions.

Previous research in the group has focused on modifying heterogeneous catalysts with self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) having alkyl tail groups. My research will investigate the role of functionalized SAMs on catalyst behavior, with the goal being to develop multi-functional catalysts. Current work is focused on the incorporation of Brønsted acid sites near noble metal surfaces for improving selective deoxygenation reactions.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) have been shown to improve catalytic performance in several cases, but questions about their stability remain. April's work focuses on understanding and improving the stability of SAMs.

I’m working to develop selective metal oxide catalysts for solid acid catalysis. I’m using two strategies to impact selectivity: 1) poisoning either Bronsted or Lewis acid sites, and 2) coating catalysts with self-assembled monolayers. My current project is focused on the dehydration of glycerol, a byproduct in the production of biodiesel, to acrolein, a polymer precursor that could be made into materials such as diapers.

To develop catalysts for the production of advanced biofuels, we must further understand the relationship between physical catalysts properties & reactivity. Current research is focusing on understanding the role of facets or defects of Ni catalysts in the activity and selectivity of hydrogenolysis of biofuel molecules. Synthesizing smaller catalysts particles can induce these defects, and so current efforts are aimed at using novel techniques to create & control the size of catalyst particles & relate these induced defects to catalytic activity.

As a graduate student, Ben worked on interfacial catalysis and controlling the selectivity of reactions in oil/water emulsions.

Mike's work focuses on understanding the interactions between polyols and palladium surfaces. Polyols can be derived from biomass and converted into a variety of useful products such as fuels, pharmaceuticals, and chemicals. Understanding how they react on metals such as palladium provides the insight necessary to develop highly active and selective catalytic systems.

Recent work in the group has showed that alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) can be applied to catalyst modification, which dramatically improved the reaction selectivity. Basically, these reactions were low temperature hydrogenation of oxygenated compounds. Based on previous work, my research will explore the performance of SAMs in harsher environments, especially under oxidizing conditions.

Direct methane conversion to liquid product is desired for reducing greenhouse gas emission, better utilization of distributed methane feedstock, and convenient energy storage and transportation. Jiajie worked as a postdoc in our group on methane partial oxidation to produce methanol with supported single atom catalysts. Other efforts included plastics chemical recycling to of plastics to reduce pollution.

My work focused on the modification and tuning of supported metal catalysts with functionalized organic monolayers. Our aim was to develop tuneable 'binding pockets' consisting of single-metal-atom adsorption sites surrounded by functionalized ligands on oxide supports.

My research focuses on improving the selectivity of supported metal catalysts by modifying them with alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs). Alkanethiol modified catalysts have been shown to dramatically increase the hydrogenation selectivity of 1-epoxy-3-butene, fatty acids, and a,b-unsaturated aldehydes through a combination of ligand specific and non-specific modifications to the near surface environment.

Reductive catalytic fractionation (RCF) is an efficient method for extracting and depolymerizing lignin. Jake worked on identifying catalyst performance differences for RCF without added hydrogen gas. Additionally, he developed a novel NMR method to measure phenols in lignin.

The goal of my research is to investigate the effect of thiol SAM-coated palladium on the reaction of molecules with multiple functional groups. The results will contribute to an understanding of the effect of SAMs on catalysts and help develop catalysts with high selectivity.

Steve's work explores the use of self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) formed from alkanethiols to improve the selectivity of catalytic materials. We have used SAMs to improve chemoselectivity in the conversion of unsaturated epoxides that can be derived from biomass and to improve the detection of transformer fault gases by metal-insulator-semiconductor sensors. This work incorporates aspects of numerous fields including heterogeneous catalysis, surface science, and chemical sensing.

Identifying catalyst surfaces capable of selective carbon-oxygen bond activation is a major focus of research in heterogeneous catalysis. This selective bond activation has an important role in deoxygenation of biomass-derived oxygenates. The primary aim of my project is to use surface science techniques, density functional theory (DFT) calculations, and experiments conducted over supported bimetallic catalysts with an overall objective of developing principles for efficient design of deoxygenation catalyst.

Transition metal surfaces are widely used to catalyse chemical transformations, but designing or screening surfaces is difficult. Since adsorption strength is a good predictor of catalytic performance, my work focuses on understanding and predicting adsorption strength to aid in catalyst design.

Pedro studied O2 dissociation on thiolated metal surfaces using Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy (DRIFTS). Research involves using a high temperature reactor chamber to investigate oxidation through different reaction conditions. In addition, he also studied the partial oxidation of methane to methanol using continuous flow reactor systems with catalysts that display promising activity towards methane activation.

My research focuses on adsorption and surface orientation of biomass-derived oxygenates on noble metal catalysts to understand desired reaction mechanisms. I also utilize molecular dynamic simulations to understand the atomistic interactions of our reactants on a variety of catalysts.

My research focuses on utilizing adsorption/surface orientation as a means of controlling reaction selectivity of biomass-derived molecules such as furfural on Pd surfaces and catalysts. Control of surface orientation can be achieved through catalyst surface modification or alloying with less reactive metals.

The goal of my research is to identify sulfur resistant Ni catalysts for the reforming of biomass tars. We use density functional theory to identify sulfur resistant Ni bimetallic catalysts. The theoretical results are validated by studying syngas reforming over these bimetallic catalysts in a packed bed reactor system. We characterize the reduced and post reaction catalyst samples using to various techniques -TPR, SEM, EXAFS and XRD - to understand the surface structure and catalyst behavior.

Mat's work involved the use of metal oxide catalysts for reactions relevant to the upgrading of biomass to biofuels. Most recently, he worked working on a collaboration with NREL to study TiO 2 catalysts for the aldol condensation reaction. The main idea is to take volatile side products from biomass processing (which currently are not captured by the liquid product stream) and couple them together over a TiO 2 catalyst...

Biomass pyrolysis is an attractive route for renewable fuel and chemical production but it results in a complex mixture of multifunctional oxygenates. Selective deoxygenation reactions are critical to upgrading of these compounds. Using bimetallic catalysts containing a hydrogenation metal and oxophilic metal modifier have shown promising selectivity for these reactions.

My project is centered around the electrocatalytic upgrading of biomass-derived model compounds, with a focus on engineering heterogeneous electrocatalysts. The specific aim of my thesis is to characterize the role of an applied electrical potential on a catalytic surface reaction mechanism, identify descriptors that influence the selectivity and activity of these reactions, and finally design/synthesize an optimized electrocatalyst based on these descriptors. The overall goal is to increase the carbon...

Performing selective conversions of reagents with multiple functional groups is a challenging objective since each group can potentially adsorb and react on a catalytic surface. Our group has explored several techniques for aligning multifunctional molecules above catalytic surfaces to promote selective reaction of a particular functional group. One approach involves the modification of supported metal catalysts with organic ligands such as alkanethiols.

Understanding proton behavior at interfaces is critical to the development of several electrochemical devices, such as batteries, fuel cells, and sensors. One aspect of this project focuses on studying how various factors of the electrocatalytic interface influence reactions, such as the oxygen reduction reaction and the hydrogen oxidation reaction, that take place on this surface. This research utilizes High Resolution Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (HREELS) and Density Functional Theory (DFT) as a two-pronged experimental and theoretical approach to studying this complex interface.

My work aims to improve the performance of supported metal/oxide catalysts through selective manipulation of their structure. Of particular interest is the study of materials with an abundance of interfacial sites, which are important for the hydro-deoxygenation of phenolic compounds.

Catalytic oxidation reactions on transition metals often occur in the presence of molecular oxygen, but oxygen’s surface-level effects on complex reactants have yet to be explored. My work includes using surface science techniques (TPD, HREELS) to understand the effects of oxygen on these mechanisms when they take place on palladium catalysts. The complex reactants of interest are biomass-derived intermediates such as aromatic alcohols and aldehydes.

My research is focusing on developing highly active and chemoselective metal catalyst using organic self-assembled monolayers either on active site or on support. My current projects include selective hydrogenation of α,β-unsaturated aldehyde and hydrodeoxygenation of bio-oil model compounds.