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

Ag-Co catalyst for ORR
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

Plasma PO 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

Selected publications

High-Performance Iridium-Molybdenum Oxide Electrocatalysts for Water Oxidation in Acid: Bayesian Optimization Discovery and Experimental Testing

J. Esterhuizen, A. Mathur, B. Goldsmith, S. Linic

JACS, 2024
Formation of Mixed Bimetallic Nanoparticles of Immiscible Metals through Plasma-Induced Reduction of Precursors in Solutions: A Case Study of AgPt Alloy Nanoparticles

H.T. Chen, D. Lee, S. Linic

Chemistry of Materials, 2023
Plasma-Induced Selective Propylene Epoxidation Using Water as the Oxygen Source

D. Lee, H.T. Chen, S. Linic

Journal of the American Chemical Society Au, 2023
Microkinetic Modeling in Electrocatalysis: Applications, Limitations, and Recommendations for Reliable Mechanistic Insights.

A. Baz, S. T. Dix, A. Holewinski, S. Linic

Journal of Catalysis, 2021
In-operando surface-sensitive probing of electrochemical reactions on nanoparticle electrocatalysts: spectroscopic characterization of reaction intermediates and elementary steps of oxygen reduction reaction on Pt.

S. T. Dix, S. Linic

Journal of Catalysis, 2021