(2kp) Electrochemical Upgrading of Small Molecules Via Catalytic Microenvironment and Active Site Tuning

With the increasing accessibility and affordability of renewable electricity, the decarbonization of industrial chemical processes and the adoption of alternative green technologies to replace traditional fossil fuel-based reactions are underway across various industrial sectors. These efforts are expected to accelerate in the coming years. In our research group, we will be dedicated to exploring the fundamental aspects of electrocatalytic reactions and providing practical solutions to electrify conventional chemical processes.

Our primary focus will involve the development of electrocatalysts that can offer fundamental insights into electrochemical reactions of interest, particularly small molecule activation and valorization, such as carbon dioxide reduction and carbon-nitrogen coupling reactions. For instance, we will concentrate on atomically well-defined catalysts, such as those featuring a single metal site coordinated by four nitrogen atoms (i.e., M-N₄ catalysts). This approach will enable us to understand mechanistic reaction pathways at a molecular level. To gain a comprehensive understanding, our group will employ a range of in situ/operando spectroscopic techniques, including synchrotron-based X-ray techniques and surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy. These methods will allow us to study not only the catalytic materials under reaction conditions but also their interactions with reactants/intermediates and the catalytic microenvironment. By combining this information, we will design novel catalysts that can demonstrate excellent performance in practical, industrially relevant devices such as high-current electrolyzers. These catalysts will be rationally designed through active site and microenvironment tuning and have sophisticated and optimized structures tailored for the target electrochemical reactions (e.g., organic-inorganic composite catalysts).

To pursue these research directions, I will leverage the synthetic skills and in situ/operando spectroscopic techniques that I acquired during my PhD under the guidance of Prof. Peidong Yang at the University of California, Berkeley and my experiences in fundamental electrochemistry and electrocatalysis during my postdoctoral research with Prof. Yang Shao-Horn at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Ultimately, the overarching goal of our group is to contribute to our society and environment by providing sustainable electrochemical technologies.

Teaching Interests

As an instructor and a mentor, I will place emphasis on two things for my students: growth mindset and a sense of belonging. These are the values that I always keep in mind and represent qualities that I hope everyone appreciates in their academic learning. First, learning is a life-long process; we at times struggle to understand scientific results that we obtained and fail to provide plausible explanations. However, it is crucial not to be discouraged, as we do learn something new. I believe that through resilience and persistence, we all can grow as better researchers and we will be able to tackle more challenging and complex scientific and engineering problems that we may not presently have answers to. Also, I believe that a sense of belonging is essential to enhance the learning of students. Only when feeling included and accepted will students engage more in their learning and interact actively with their peers. This type of experience will also greatly improve their communication skills in their research. Especially nowadays, collaboration with others having not only different scientific but also cultural backgrounds is very common and also important to solve grand technical problems. I will strive to create a learning environment wherein everyone feels welcomed and can work together.

While all my degrees are in materials science and engineering, I have really enjoyed taking various courses from different departments including chemistry and chemical engineering. This diverse academic background prepared me to teach a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses. Specifically, I would like to design an electrochemistry course tailored to the needs of chemical engineering students. I am planning to make the course authentic and relevant to real-world problems for students who are interested in electrochemical storage and conversion technologies.