Prof. Christian Reece : Taming Complexity in Heterogeneous Catalysis
Abstract: The complex and dynamic nature of heterogenous catalytic materials means that even when using high-resolution spectroscopic methods (e.g., XAS, TEM) identification of “active sites” on “technical catalysts” is fraught with difficulties. To circumvent these hurdles, we have developed a method where intrinsic kinetics is used to probe active sites. As the rate at which a species reacts on a catalytic surface is defined by the local environment in which that species is adsorbed, an intrinsic rate constant (i.e., one that has been isolated from thermal and mass transfer constraints) of a chemical transformation is an accurate descriptor of the “active site” on the catalyst surface. In this work, we demonstrate how intrinsic kinetics can be used to quantify and characterise active sites, and how this leads to new discoveries on structure-function relationships.
Bio: Christian Reece earned his BSc in Chemistry from the University of Bath and his PhD in Chemistry from Cardiff University, before joining Harvard University as a postdoctoral researcher with Robert Madix. He is currently a Rowland Fellow at the Rowland Institute at Harvard and is an incoming Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Rice University. His research focuses on controlling catalytic systems to gain fundamental insight into the relationship between structure and function.
Bio: Christian Reece earned his BSc in Chemistry from the University of Bath and his PhD in Chemistry from Cardiff University, before joining Harvard University as a postdoctoral researcher with Robert Madix. He is currently a Rowland Fellow at the Rowland Institute at Harvard and is an incoming Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Rice University. His research focuses on controlling catalytic systems to gain fundamental insight into the relationship between structure and function.
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