CHBE Special Seminar:Strategies for Electrocatalysis Selectivity and Beyond
Friday, March 10, 2023
11:00 a.m.
Room 2108 Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Building
For More Information:
Emmanuel Duh
301 405 1935
eduh@umd.edu

Title: Strategies for Electrocatalysis Selectivity and Beyond: From Electrocatalysts to Reaction Mechanism

Abstract: The availability of renewable energy sources (solar and wind) provides opportunities to replace many traditional chemical synthesis methods by electrochemical processes to achieve sustainable manufacturing, including direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs), hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) electrochemical production, and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) reduction reactions. However, the rates of many important reactions involved in electrochemical processes are too slow and the selectivity of targeted products also needs to be improved. The key to solve these challenges is to gain fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms and design better electrocatalysts.  In this presentation, I will discuss three examples to control reaction selectivity via different strategies, including using element-intermediate-selectivity relationship, tuning the local chemical coordination between atomic metal catalyst and the support, and controlling the evolution of catalyst oxidation state during the reaction.

Bio: Qiaowan Chang is currently a postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Jingguang Chen and Prof. Alissa Park in Chemical Engineering at Columbia University. She received her PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of California, San Diego, advised by Dr. Zheng Chen, where she was awarded the Marye Anne Fox Endowed Fellowship, given to the PhD student with highly distinguished academic records. Her research focuses on designing electrocatalysts at the atomic scale through fundamental understanding of their elementary processes in several key electrocatalytic applications.

This Event is For: Graduate • Undergraduate • Faculty • Post-Docs