[ChBE-Grad] UH ChBE SABIC Seminar this Friday, January 27

[Solano, Nicolette]

[William A. Brookshire Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Seminar Series]<https://www.chee.uh.edu>

Resonance-Promoted Oxidation via Dynamic Electrocatalytic Modulation


Omar Abdelrahman
Assistant Professor
University of Massachusetts Amherst

Friday, January 27, 2023 | 10:30am Central
Engineering 2, room W122

LECTURE ABSTRACT
As developments into more sustainable and economically viable energy production and chemical transformation technologies continue to evolve, catalysis research has iterated towards the application of external stimuli to accelerate catalytic performance, pushing beyond the limitations of material design alone. However, the use of external stimuli has not significantly altered the landscape of heterogeneously catalyzed chemical and energy production. Through microkinetic modeling, computational calculations, and experimental kinetics, we demonstrate the ability to accelerate the activity of existing materials through periodic energetic oscillations applied directly to the catalytic surface. Applying the energetic oscillations at precisely controlled frequencies, dynamic catalysts can greatly exceed the activity and selectivity of their static analog. We recently demonstrated this dynamic concept experimentally, using electrochemical potential as a means of reaction pathway control that facilitates formic acid oxidation over Pt; the rate of potentiodynamic formic acid oxidation was more than an order of magnitude faster than potentiostatic oxidation. The ability to form carbon monoxide via formic acid dehydration, and its subsequent oxidation to carbon dioxide, are favored at dissimilar anodic potentials at the Pt surface. Oscillating between distinct electrochemical potentials that favor the formation, and subsequent oxidation of carbon monoxide, facilitates the overall rate of formic acid oxidation. The acceleration of the catalytic cycle through this dynamic approach is maximized at a unique range of frequencies, proposed to be in resonance with the kinetic timescales of individual surface reactions.

SPEAKER BIOSKETCH

Omar Abdelrahman grew up in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates), where he received his BSc in Chemical Engineering (American University of Sharjah, 2011), before moving to upstate New York for his PhD in Chemical Engineering (Syracuse University, 2016), followed by a postdoctoral position at the University of Minnesota. In 2018, Omar joined the University of Massachusetts Amherst as an assistant professor in the department of Chemical Engineering. The Abdelrahman lab's primary research focus is heterogeneous catalysis, with an emphasis on understanding and controlling non-ideal thermodynamic environments relevant to renewable chemical transformations. They are also passionate about advancing accessible and affordable science, through developing and disseminating experimental designs aimed at lowering the barrier to entry in catalysis research.



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