Prof. Christina W. Li : Bimetallic Alloy Nanoparticles for Stereoselective Heterogeneous Hydrogenation
Abstract : Bimetallic alloy nanoparticles are important catalysts for selective heterogeneous hydrogenation reactions. Our group recently showed that a well-defined bimetallic surface is capable of stereoselective hydrogenation of olefins through a directing group strategy. Taking inspiration from molecular catalysts for directed hydrogenation, we utilize a bimetallic alloy comprising a noble metal and a base metal where the base metal adsorbs a heteroatom directing group on the substrate and drives facially-selective hydrogen addition. We show that heteroatom-directed heterogeneous hydrogenation is highly diastereoselective for a wide range of substrate classes, including hindered olefins and arenes that are unreactive in the presence of molecular hydrogenation catalysts and unselective in the presence of monometallic noble metal catalysts. We also utilize colloidal synthesis, CO DRIFTS, and catalytic kinetics to elucidate the active site ensemble required for heterogeneous directed hydrogenation.
Bio : Christina Li received an A.B. in chemical and physical biology from Harvard University in 2009, working with Professor David Evans. She completed her Ph.D. in chemistry at Stanford University, working with Professor Matthew Kanan on nanostructured Cu electrodes for CO2 reduction. She then did postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley with Professor Paul Alivisatos on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals. She began her independent career in the chemistry department at Purdue University in 2016 where her group focuses on colloidal synthetic strategies to tune the electronic properties and ensemble geometry of nanoparticle active sites for electrochemical, thermal, and organic catalytic reactions. She was promoted to associate professor in 2023. She has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), and the 2024 ACS Catalysis Lectureship.
Bio : Christina Li received an A.B. in chemical and physical biology from Harvard University in 2009, working with Professor David Evans. She completed her Ph.D. in chemistry at Stanford University, working with Professor Matthew Kanan on nanostructured Cu electrodes for CO2 reduction. She then did postdoctoral work at UC Berkeley with Professor Paul Alivisatos on colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals. She began her independent career in the chemistry department at Purdue University in 2016 where her group focuses on colloidal synthetic strategies to tune the electronic properties and ensemble geometry of nanoparticle active sites for electrochemical, thermal, and organic catalytic reactions. She was promoted to associate professor in 2023. She has received a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA), and the 2024 ACS Catalysis Lectureship.
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