In this presentation, I will discuss the educational path that laid the foundation for my independent academic career. Lessons learned during this academic path have been key at solidified my dedication toward education and diversity as key components in advancing science and engineering. Involvement with educational and outreach programs in chemical sciences and engineering has been a source of inspiration for following an academic career. Further, I will discuss some of the work in my research group focused on engineering metal/metal oxide interfaces for selective catalysis. Metal–metal oxide catalysts play an important role in many heterogeneous catalytic processes. Extensive research has shown that the interface between metals and metal oxides can provide unique active sites that exploit the distinct properties of the two types of materials, critical in developing the next generation of highly active and selective catalysts. One way to enhance the metal-metal oxide interfaces is to synthesize “inverted” systems, in which metal oxide films are deposited on top of metallic substrates. The “inverted” catalytic systems are attractive for several reasons, including: (i) the potential for an increased density of metal-metal oxide interface sites that completely surround the metal particles; (ii) encapsulation with metal oxides can improve the chemical and thermal stability of small metal NPs, and provide spatially regulated delivery of reactants to the interfacial sites. In this study, we utilize a controlled synthesis approach to successfully encapsulate Pd nanoparticles (NPs) within a porous TiO2 film of controllable pore size (Pd@TiO2) to achieve high hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) selectivity of biomass derived alcohols (benzyl alcohol and furfuryl alcohol), while maintaining high catalytic activity. Catalyst selectivity is found to be a strong function of both the presence of Pd-TiO2 interfacial sites and the pore size of the TiO2 shell. Experiments measuring hydrogenation rates for olefins of different molecular size strongly suggest that small pores hinder adsorption of aromatics in a “flat-lying” configuration that has been associated with non-selective C-C scission. These findings demonstrate that “inverted” catalytic structures provide both high interfacial contact between the metal and metal oxide sites and restrictive accessible conformations of aromatics on the metal surface.

Impacting the future energy landscape through catalyst design and education

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.