DMREF/Collaborative Research: Designing Tunable Au-Based Bimetallic Nanocatalysts

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In this project funded by the Division of Chemistry through the Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) Program, Professor James Lewis of West Virginia University and Professor Rongchao Jin of Carnegie-Mellon University are studying how to make new, precisely defined metal alloy catalysts. The chemical industry relies on inexpensive and re-usable catalysts to convert chemical feedstock into viable products. In addition, reducing harmful byproducts in combustion processes (e.g. carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide) also requires inexpensive and re-usable catalysts, such as those found in a catalytic converter of an automobile. Gold-based catalysts at the size of a few nanometers in diameter are proven to be very efficient in many chemically converting processes; however, they are expensive, particularly as the price of gold continues to increase over time. Mixing in other less expensive metal constituents, such as copper, would drive down the cost and possibly increase activity in some cases, but the scientific challenge is to determine how to add in such metals without losing the efficiency and stability of the catalyst. Computational searching algorithms are being developed to assist the materials development of catalysts of gold mixed with other metals. The research team is comprehensively advancing both technical and conceptual understanding of the structure-function mapping in bi-metallic catalysts. They are building a guidance framework to design and develop bimetallic catalysts from first principles rather than trial-and-error by decreasing the number of potential nanoparticles for tests to an experimentally manageable number. The proposed research will continue to impact energy technologies that are currently being pursued by experienced researchers at the National Energy Technology Laboratory. In terms of the broader impacts of this proposed research, the current interdisciplinary collaborations will boost regional outreach and educational impact for students. Lewis and Jin are continuing to engage under-represented student populations in their research programs and they will continue to cultivate broadened participation for student's professional preparations.