Catalysis and Surface Chemistry
We seek to enhance our understanding of catalysis as well as discovering and synthesizing advanced catalytic materials. We take several approaches in our work: (i) study of classical high-surface-area catalysts in a flow reactor, (ii) studies of model samples at low temperatures and under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, (iii) studies of model catalysts that can be characterized in UHV but with reactivity studied at close to atmospheric pressure, and (iv) density functional theory modeling with collaborators.
Battery Electrode Materials
We are interested in making both applied and fundamental contributions to battery electrode materials. Our work includes studies related to lithium-ion batteries as well as room-temperature sodium-ion batteries. The research includes (i) synthesizing novel materials ( for storing lithium or sodium) by physical as well as wet-chemical methods, (ii) the physical characterization of these materials via x-rays, electron microscopy, etc., and (iii) the electrochemical characterization of the materials.
Advanced Carbon Materials
We are interested in making both fundamental and applied contributions to carbon capture and gas separation using advanced porous materials. Our research focuses on the development of nitrogen-doped porous carbons for selective CO₂ capture, with particular emphasis on tuning pore size distributions and surface properties to optimize adsorption performance. We study these materials using physical characterization techniques such as BET surface area analysis and gas adsorption measurements. In addition, we investigate gas separation processes, including ethane/ethylene separation, using porous carbons. Our work includes both single-component isotherm measurements and multicomponent adsorption studies through breakthrough experiments.
Plasma Catalysis
We are interested in using non-equilibrium plasmas to couples with gas phase reactants and catalysts to perform various reactions. The generation of vibrationally excited molecules lowers the energy requirements for reactions to take place, allowing us to perform reactions at ambient pressures and room temperature, while also shifting catalyst dynamics. Our research looks into both the fundamentals of plasma catalysis, surface science and mechanistic testing and the engineering aspects of reactor design and industrially relevant parameters. We look at many different reactions, including ammonia synthesis, methane conversion and greenhouse gas abatement. We use various techniques for characterization and quantification of our reactions and catalysts, including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), infrared spectroscopy (IR).
Solar Fuels
We are interested in the technology and science of the generation of fuels via solar energy. Our activities involve: (i) synthesis of nanostructured photomaterials for light absorption and (ii) discovery of electrocatalysts for the oxygen evolution and hydrogen evolution reactions. We physically characterize these materials employing electron microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and etc. We also measure the electrical properties of the materials and we employ electrochemical and photo-electrochemical methods for further testing.