Time: 20th June, 2018, 9:00 am
Venue: Conference room on first floor, No.1 Energy Building
Lecturer: Prof. Phillip Christopher, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Santa Barbara

Abstract:

The use of heterogeneous catalysts for important chemical conversions ranging from pollution mitigation to energy production relies on the design of active catalytic sites consisting of metal nanostructures supported on high surface area oxide materials. Key to design of these systems is identifying active site geometries and compositions that are optimized for desired catalytic reactions and exploiting reaction conditions that maximize yields. Active sites vary in structural diversity from single atoms on oxide supports to unique interfaces between active metal species and oxide supports, making their characterization complex. This difficulty is further complicated because the exposure of oxide-supported metals to reactive environments can induce significant transformations in the structure of metal surfaces, support surfaces, and interactions between the metal and support. Furthermore, it has recently been shown that illumination of operating supported metal catalysts by visible light illumination provides an additional lever by which catalysis can be controlled.

In this talk I will highlight examples from my group where we exploit unique approach to control catalysis on supported metals through:

(1) Dynamic behavior of oxide supported Rh catalysts for CO₂ reduction.

(2) Using supports and bimetallics to control selectivity in biomass conversion catalysis.

(3) Tuning the local environment of single metal atoms to control reactivity.

(4) Utilizing photoexcitation to enhance and control catalysis on metal surfaces.

Introduction:

Phil Christopher received his B.S. from University of California, Santa Barbara in 2006 and his M.S and Ph.D. from University of Michigan in 2011 all in Chemical Engineering. From 2011-2017 he was an Assistant Professor at University of California, Riverside with appointments in the Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department and Materials Science & Engineering Program. In 2017 he moved to University of California, Santa Barbara where is an Associate Professor and the Mellichamp Chair in Sustainable Manufacturing. Prof. Christopher has won various awards including the 2012 Young Scientists Award from the International Congress on Catalysis, 2014 Army Research Office Young Investigator Award, and 2016 NSF Early CAREER Award. Prof. Christopher’s research group focuses on heterogeneous catalysis and photocatalysis with interest in understanding fundamental aspects of active site characteristics and reaction mechanisms and applying these insights to the design of new materials and processes for chemicals and fuels production, as well as environmental protection. He has ~35 peer-reviewed publications, including papers in Science, Nature Chemistry, Nature Materials, JACS, Nano Letters, ACS Catalysis, etc, which have a total of more than 4700 citations. He also served as a Senior Editor of ACS Energy Letters.

Contact: Sisi FAN 1506 group 

Phone:84379161