Lehigh University's Steven McIntosh, Professor and Department Chair; Zisman Family Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering to lead Collaborations in Electrocatalysis: From Biosynthesized Quantum Dot Photocatalysts to Cooperative Metal Nanoparticles seminar at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, in Troy, NY, on Wednesday, October 25, 9:30AM, with refreshments available beforehand in the Academy Hall Auditorium.
For more information and registration details, please contact Lisa Martin.
Abstract
Research is increasingly a collaborative endeavor. Innovative and impactful solutions to society’s grand challenge will arguably only be found by researchers working across and between disciplines. In this talk, I will discuss how collaboration has enriched and expanded my own research over the past several years, and the steps that Lehigh ChBE has taken to create and enrich a collaborative environment. Specifically, I will discuss the creation of a biosynthetic route for the synthesis of quantum confined nanomaterials and the collaborative discovery of a new cooperative phenomenon in catalysis. In both cases, collaboration between those with different research backgrounds and ‘languages’ was critical to making key breakthroughs to advance the fundamental scientific understanding. The result of the first project, a casual dinner conversation led to a novel route to enable the low cost, aqueous phase, low temperature, size-controlled synthesis of a heterostructure photocatalyst that can convert solar energy to hydrogen fuel at rates comparable to the best materials formed through traditional chemical syntheses. In the second project, a simple request for help interpreting data led to the application of fundamental principles in electrochemistry to reveal a cooperative redox enhancement in heterogeneous catalysis that can be leveraged to design highly active catalysts for biomass upgrading.
