Photocatalysis | Electrocatalysis | Thermal Catalysis | Laboratory Resources |
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Electrocatalysis
Our group is well-versed in the dual theoretical and experimental approach necessary in the field of electrocatalysis. Our work focuses on understanding how selectively tuning the properties of metal surfaces can improve their catalytic activity. After identifying key design parameters, we can develop structure-property relationships that predict the activity of novel catalytic materials.Development of electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction

Synthesis of well-defined multimetallic nanostructures is critical in discovering catalysts to
replace platinum for the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction. The synthesis of these
nanostructures is often complicated by incompatibility of metals, dynamic reconstruction under
operating conditions, and general characterization of the nanoparticles. Recently, we developed a
synthesis in which we encountered and overcame these obstacles. We worked on improving alkaline ORR
activity of Ag-based materials. While silver is less active material than Pt, it is also much less
expensive. By improving the ORR activity of silver through alloying, we can make materials that are
more competitive with Pt on a cost basis. Motivated by density functional theory calculations, we
developed a synthesis to prepare Ag-Co nanoparticles that show superior ORR performance compared to
monometallic Ag nanoparticles.
Utilizing plasma-liquid interaction for chemical synthesis

Our group focuses on understanding the interactions between plasma and liquids, a process known as
plasma-driven solution electrolysis. By identifying the dominant reactive species, we can explore the
unique opportunities presented by these highly reactive interfaces to drive both reductive and oxidative
reactions. We demonstrated the feasibility of this type of chemistry in the synthesis of propylene oxide
from propylene and water, where the hydrogen peroxide generated from plasma-liquid interaction serves as
a selective oxidant for propylene towards propylene oxide. Current members working in this area include
Han-Ting Chen and Yi Zhang