(7eg) Designing Multicomponent Nanostructured Materials for Energy Storage and Conversion

The development of energy storage and conversion systems to replace fossil fuels with renewable sources depends on the optimization of critical reactions. Though many reactions of interest are thermodynamically feasible, some of the best catalysts to date consist of materials that are simply too expensive to be practical when deployed on a wide scale. Much of the research to expand available catalysts for these reactions has focused on tuning composition. However, fully overcoming fundamental constraints to catalyst activity requires techniques beyond alloying alone, such as developing novel nanostructured catalysts. A prime example is in electrochemical H₂ generation, where the state-of-the-art catalyst is nanostructured Pt/C and much attention has been devoted to finding better materials. Since ideal catalysts are complex and must optimize both composition and structure, I propose to design novel multicomponent materials using a comprehensive approach which spans from theory and fundamental reactions in controlled conditions to synthesis and testing of catalysts under realistic conditions. As a faculty member, I am particularly interested in designing nanostructured and nanoporous multimetallic alloy and oxide catalysts to induce synergistic effects and tailored reactivity for a wide range of catalytic and electrocatalytic systems, including electrochemical CO₂ reduction to chemicals and fuels, electrocatalysts for air battery systems, and supported catalysts for biomass conversion.

In my research experiences, I have found opportunities to develop expertise in a wide range of experimental and computational techniques necessary to develop a complete understanding of structure-property relationships critical for design of novel materials. During my doctoral work, I focused on the design and characterization of nanostructured materials for energy conversion and storage, with a heavy emphasis on electrocatalysis. In a project on electrochemical H₂ evolution, I developed nanoporous Cu-M (M= first-row transition metal) bimetallic catalysts with activity approaching Pt/C and used density functional theory calculations to understand the experimental results.¹ To examine catalyst structure, I have used synchrotron X-ray absorption spectroscopy both ex situ and in operando to find critical properties of lithium-air battery electrocatalysts,² CO₂ reduction electrocatalysts,³ and Co-based photocatalysts for water splitting.⁴ Additionally, I have developed nanoporous ternary Cu-M-Al for vapor-phase hydrodeoxygenation of biomass derivatives.⁵ In my post-doctoral work, I have expanded my technical knowledge to characterization with fundamental surface science techniques, where I have studied multimetallic thin films and the growth of two-dimensional aluminosilicate bilayers as zeolite analogs and atomically thin membrane materials.⁶ In this session, I plan to provide an overview of my research in these areas and how this collected experience enables my future research and provides a complete basis for understanding catalyst properties and finding new materials to solve the most pressing issues in energy storage and conversion.

Graduate Advisor: Feng Jiao (University of Delaware, Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering)

Post-Doctoral Advisor: Eric I. Altman (Yale University, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering)

Selected Publications (Total Papers: 21, Total Citations: 913, h-index: 11 [Google Scholar]):

(1) Lu, Q.; Hutchings, G. S.; Yu, W.; Zhou, Y.; Forest, R. V.; Tao, R.; Rosen, J.; Yonemoto, B. T.; Cao, Z.; Zheng, H.; Xiao, J. Q.; Jiao, F.; Chen, J. G. Nat. Commun. 2015, 6:6567.

(2) Hutchings, G. S.; Rosen, J.; Smiley, D.; Goward, G. R.; Bruce, P. G.; Jiao, F. J. Phys. Chem. C 2014, 118, 12617.

(3) Rosen, J.; Hutchings, G. S.; Lu, Q.; Forest, R. V.; Moore, A.; Jiao, F. ACS Catal. 2015, 5, 4586.

(4) Hutchings, G. S.; Zhang, Y.; Li, J.; Yonemoto, B. T.; Zhou, X.; Zhu, K.; Jiao, F. J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2015, 137, 4223.

(5) Hutchings, G. S.; Luc, W.; Lu, Q.; Zhou, Y.; Vlachos, D. G.; Jiao, F. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2017, 56, 3866.

(6) Hutchings, G. S.; Jhang, J.-H.; Zhou, C.; Hynek, D.; Schwarz, U. D.; Altman, E. I. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017, 9, 11266.

Teaching Interests:

I believe that the curriculum in chemical engineering should balance the need for fundamental knowledge with experience solving realistic problems using tools students will encounter in their careers. For example, when given the opportunity to give lectures during my teaching assistantships, I paired a walkthrough of fundamental derivations and problem solving with hands-on demonstrations of how to solve more complex problems with software used in practice. I found that students responded well to this approach and could apply the concepts effectively to their semester projects. Given my research background, I am most excited to apply this approach to courses in kinetics/reaction engineering as well as the introduction to chemical engineering. I would also like to develop courses in materials characterization and (electro)catalysis as graduate-level electives to provide a firm foundation for students interested in those areas. Additionally, I have experience mentoring summer undergraduates both during my graduate work and as part of a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program at Yale, where I have taught practical lab experience and provided guidance that has led to published results with the undergraduates as co-authors.