CAREER: Modular Multi-Interface Nanocrystals for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Biorenewable Alcohols

该奖项的全部或部分资金来自《2021年美国救援计划法案》(公法117-2)。在化学系化学催化项目的支持下，弗吉尼亚大学的张森正在研究催化剂，以有效地氧化可再生酒精，以生产清洁电力和有价值的化学品。清洁能源是现代社会的核心挑战之一。乙醇、丙醇和丁醇等可再生酒精是美国可持续和负担得起的国内能源资源能源战略发展计划的重要组成部分。为了利用具有更高能量转换效率和更低碳排放的生物可再生醇，该项目将开发具有成本效益的催化剂，使生物可再生醇被指定为电化学装置中的碳原料，用于发电和化学转化。从这项研究中获得的知识将广泛地有利于能源和环境可持续性的催化研究。该项目的成果将加速包括燃料电池和电合成设备在内的电化学设备的开发和规模化应用，可能会改变美国的能源组合。张博士的研究将与教育计划和外展活动紧密结合，重点是开发“iCleanEnergy”教学平台，为本科清洁能源教育提供主动和定制的学习。该项目还将涉及对少数群体服务机构的教育宣传，以增加少数群体在能源部门的参与。在化学系化学催化项目的支持下，弗吉尼亚大学的Sen Zhang正在研究一种新兴的纳米晶体，其中包括金属磷化物/金属(MP/M)核/壳和金属-金属(M-M)界面，用于电催化。通过合理设计和综合调整每个纳米晶体中的这些界面，本项目旨在从根本上了解界面对生物质衍生醇氧化的理想电催化性能的影响，从而开发用于乙醇燃料的阴离子交换膜燃料电池和电合成设备的高效催化剂。张博士将利用他的团队在先进纳米材料合成、结构表征、电催化和理论计算方面的能力，专注于三项任务：(1)通过调整MP核心来优化MP/Pd核/壳界面，以增强醇氧化反应；(2)利用精心控制的Pd-M异质结构来修饰钯壳；以及(3)通过结合电化学和原位光谱方法来了解优化的醇氧化催化剂的设计规则。通过采取跨学科的方法，该项目旨在解决催化和电化学中的基本问题；特别是催化剂的原子结构和界面结构如何与催化剂的活性、稳定性和选择性相关。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2).With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Sen Zhang of the University of Virginia is studying catalysts to efficiently oxidize renewable alcohols for the production of clean electricity and valuable chemicals. Clean energy is one of the central challenges of modern society. Renewable alcohols, such as ethanol, propanol, and butanol, produced from non-food biomass resources are important components of the United States energy strategic development plan for sustainable and affordable domestic energy resources. To utilize bio-renewable alcohols with higher energy conversion efficiency and lower carbon emission, this project will develop cost-effective catalysts that allow the bio-renewable alcohols to be designated as a carbon feedstock in electrochemical devices for electrical energy generation and chemical transformation. The knowledge obtained from this research will broadly benefit catalysis research for energy and environmental sustainability. The outcome of this project will accelerate the development and the scaled application of electrochemical devices, including fuel cells and electrosynthesis devices, potentially transforming the U.S. energy portfolio. Dr. Zhang’s research will be closely integrated with education plans and outreach activities, with an emphasis on the development of a “iCleanEnergy” pedagogical platform to enable active and customized learning for undergraduate clean energy education. The project will also involve educational outreach to minority serving institutions to increase minority participation in the energy sector. With the support of the Chemical Catalysis program in the Division of Chemistry, Sen Zhang of the University of Virginia is studying an emerging class of nanocrystals wherein multiple hetero-structured interfaces, including metal phosphide/metal (MP/M) core/shell and metal-metal (M-M) interfaces, are modularly integrated for electrocatalysis. By rationally designing and synthetically tuning these interfaces within each nanocrystal, this project aims to fundamentally understand interfacial effects on desirable electrocatalytic properties for the oxidation of biomass-derived alcohols, leading to the development of efficient catalysts for alcohol-fueled anion exchange membrane fuel cells and electrosynthesis devices. Dr. Zhang will leverage his team's abilities in advanced nanomaterials synthesis, structural characterization, electrocatalysis, and theoretical calculations to focus on three tasks: (1) optimizing the MP/Palladium core/shell interface to enhance the alcohol oxidation reaction by tuning MP cores; (2) modifying the palladium shell with carefully controlled palladium-M heterostructures; and (3) understanding the design rules for optimized alcohol oxidation catalysts through a combination of electrochemical and in-situ spectroscopic approaches. By taking an interdisciplinary approach, this project aims to address fundamental questions in catalysis and electrochemistry; in particular, how catalyst atomic structure and interfacial architecture correlate with catalyst activity, stability and selectivity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.