Catalysis & Green Chemistry Lab

Overview

Chemical synthesis is one of the largest contributors to industrial waste and energy consumption worldwide. The Catalysis & Green Chemistry Lab takes this as a design constraint, not a problem to be addressed after the fact. We develop catalytic systems — heterogeneous, homogeneous, and enzymatic — that enable synthetic transformations under milder conditions, with fewer steps, less solvent, and lower energy requirements than conventional routes.

Mechanistic understanding drives our approach. Before optimizing a catalyst, we want to know what the rate-determining step is, which surface sites are active, how substrate binding geometry affects selectivity, and what role the solvent plays. We combine operando spectroscopy (infrared, Raman, X-ray absorption) with isotopic labeling, kinetic modeling, and density functional theory calculations to build predictive mechanistic models that guide catalyst design.

We apply these insights to three families of priority reactions: C–H functionalization (direct bond activation without pre-functionalization), electrochemical CO2 reduction (converting waste carbon dioxide into useful chemicals), and selective oxidation of biomass-derived platform chemicals. All three have clear relevance to sustainable manufacturing. We use the Spectroscopy & Analytical Core extensively and collaborate with the Functional Materials Group on catalyst support development.

Research themes

• Heterogeneous catalysis: active site identification and mechanistic elucidation
• Electrocatalytic CO2 reduction to fuels and platform chemicals
• C–H activation and functionalization under mild conditions
• Selective oxidation of bio-based feedstocks
• Organocatalysis and asymmetric synthesis with earth-abundant catalysts
• Operando spectroscopy: in-situ FTIR, Raman, XAS
• Green solvent systems and solvent-free reaction engineering
• Catalyst stability, deactivation, and regeneration