Transition metal nitride catalysts for selective conversion of oxygen-containing molecules.

Earth abundant transition metal nitrides (TMNs) are a promising group of catalysts for a wide range of thermocatalytic, electrocatalytic and photocatalytic reactions, with potential to achieve high activity and selectivity while reducing reliance on the use of Pt-group metals. However, current fundamental understanding of the active sites of these materials and the mechanisms by which selective transformations occur is somewhat lacking. Recent investigations of these materials from our group and others have utilized probe molecules, model surfaces, and techniques to elucidate the origin of their activity, strong metal-support interactions, and unique d-band electronic structures.

Controlling Product Distribution of Polyethylene Hydrogenolysis Using Bimetallic RuM (M = Fe, Co, Ni) Catalysts.

Plastic hydrogenolysis is an attractive approach for producing value-added chemicals due to its mild reaction conditions, but controlling product distribution is challenging due to the formation of undesired CH This work reports several bimetallic RuM/CeO (M = Fe, Co, Ni) catalysts that shift the product of low-density polyethylene hydrogenolysis toward longer-chain hydrocarbons. These catalysts were characterized by using X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, electron microscopy imaging, and H temperature-programmed reduction. The combined catalytic evaluation and characterization results revealed that the product distribution was regulated by the formation of bimetallic alloys.

Plasmon-Enhanced Greenhouse Selectivity for High-Temperature Solar Thermal Energy Conversion.

The greenhouse effect arises when thermal radiation is forced to undergo absorption and re-emission many times before escaping, while sunlight transmits largely unimpeded. Although this effect is responsible for global warming, it is generally weak in solid-state materials because radiation can be easily overpowered by other modes of heat transfer. Here, we report on the use of infrared plasmonic nanoparticles to enhance the greenhouse effect in transparent mesoporous materials.