Special MechE Colloquium: Colloidal chemistry for tunable electrocatalysts to convert CO2
Event details
| Date | 07.05.2020 |
| Hour | 17:00 › 18:00 |
| Speaker | Prof. Raffaella Buonsanti, Laboratory of Nanochemistry for Energy, School of Basic Sciences, Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering, EPFL |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Abstract:
Correlating activity, selectivity and stability with the structure and composition of catalysts is crucial to advancing the knowledge in chemical transformations which are essential to move towards a more sustainable economy. Among these, the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) holds the promise to close the carbon cycle by storing renewable energies into chemical feedstocks, yet it suffers from the lack of efficient, selective and stable catalysts. Furthermore, fundamental catalytic studies should be complemented with investigations under commercially-relevant conditions to assure actual progress in the field.
In this talk, I will present our recent group efforts towards the synthesis via colloidal chemistry of atomically defined nanocrystals (NCs) and their use as CO2RR catalysts. First of all, I will focus on our studies of NC nucleation and growth. A fundamental understanding of the formation mechanisms is crucial to rationally approach the design of new and more complex catalytic materials. I will then illustrate how NCs with precisely tunable shapes, sizes and interfaces between different domains can help to identify selectivity rules at the branching nodes which lead to C1 and C2+ reduction products. I will conclude by sharing our latest results which illustrate that the above discussed catalysts are not only model systems but can be implemented in a gas-fed electrolyzer and sustain the same selectivity at technologically relevant conditions with currents up to 300 mA/cm2.
Bio:
Dr. Raffaella Buonsanti has started her position as Tenure Track Assistant Professor at at the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC) of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in November 2015. She received her Master Degree in Chemistry from the University of Bari in 2006. In 2010, she graduated in Chemistry from the University of Salento working at the National Nanotechnology Laboratory (NNL, in Lecce-Italy). She continued her research as a postdoc at the Molecular Foundry, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Then she became a tenure-track staff scientist in JCAP (the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis) at LBNL where she started her own research program. At EPFL, Professor Buonsanti implements a highly interdisciplinary approach, spanning from Chemistry to Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, to address fundamental challenges in energy technologies. Her team works at the interface between materials chemistry and catalysis.
Correlating activity, selectivity and stability with the structure and composition of catalysts is crucial to advancing the knowledge in chemical transformations which are essential to move towards a more sustainable economy. Among these, the electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction (CO2RR) holds the promise to close the carbon cycle by storing renewable energies into chemical feedstocks, yet it suffers from the lack of efficient, selective and stable catalysts. Furthermore, fundamental catalytic studies should be complemented with investigations under commercially-relevant conditions to assure actual progress in the field.
In this talk, I will present our recent group efforts towards the synthesis via colloidal chemistry of atomically defined nanocrystals (NCs) and their use as CO2RR catalysts. First of all, I will focus on our studies of NC nucleation and growth. A fundamental understanding of the formation mechanisms is crucial to rationally approach the design of new and more complex catalytic materials. I will then illustrate how NCs with precisely tunable shapes, sizes and interfaces between different domains can help to identify selectivity rules at the branching nodes which lead to C1 and C2+ reduction products. I will conclude by sharing our latest results which illustrate that the above discussed catalysts are not only model systems but can be implemented in a gas-fed electrolyzer and sustain the same selectivity at technologically relevant conditions with currents up to 300 mA/cm2.
Bio:
Dr. Raffaella Buonsanti has started her position as Tenure Track Assistant Professor at at the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering (ISIC) of the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in November 2015. She received her Master Degree in Chemistry from the University of Bari in 2006. In 2010, she graduated in Chemistry from the University of Salento working at the National Nanotechnology Laboratory (NNL, in Lecce-Italy). She continued her research as a postdoc at the Molecular Foundry, at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). Then she became a tenure-track staff scientist in JCAP (the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis) at LBNL where she started her own research program. At EPFL, Professor Buonsanti implements a highly interdisciplinary approach, spanning from Chemistry to Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, to address fundamental challenges in energy technologies. Her team works at the interface between materials chemistry and catalysis.
Practical information
- General public
- Free