Research

The focus of our lab is on understanding reaction mechanisms on and along a catalyst surface. Our research spans fundamental understanding of catalytic surfaces (reaction mechanism development and kinetics) to thinking about application (degradation studies and more realistic reaction conditions). Using this knowledge, our goal is to design better catalysts, both at the active site scale, and at the reactor scale, through tailor-designing catalyst active sites and active site densities.  Our main research directions include:

• Understanding reaction mechanisms, with emphasis on complex feed conditions

• Understanding how catalysts change with time on stream and with exposure to known catalyst poisons or degradation modes

• Understanding how periodic changes in reaction conditions change the catalyst surface and therefore reaction rates

• Designing catalysts from the atomic to reactor scale

Current projects in our lab include

• sulfur poisoning of SCR catalysts, 

• using periodic reactor operation to enhance methane conversion yields and acrylonitrile production via the ammoxidation of propylene reaction, 

• resolving how N2O forms over precious metal surfaces, and

• modeling how Cu ion migration in a Cu/CHA catalyst impacts oxidation reactions.