Polymers are ubiquitous materials produced at a large scale. The non-degradable plastic waste with low recycling rate poses severe environmental threats. We catalytically convert polymer waste into petroleum-derived chemicals to improve the circularity of our economy. We aim at developing catalysts compatible with additives and impurities, understanding how polymers of different configurations interact with catalyst surfaces, and improving catalytic efficiency through mechanism-informed catalyst design.
Many heterogeneous catalysts have metal nanoparticles as active species. The size, shape, and density of nanoparticles determine their catalytic performances. The effects of these structural parameters are often entangled and difficult to cleanly elucidate. Inspired by the self-assembly theory of quantumd dots, we develop a catalyst design framework that tunes each parameter independently. Coupled with comprehensive in-situ spectroscopic and microscopic characterization methods, this allows us to precisely reveal structure-function relationships of the catalysts under harsh reaction conditions.
H2 occupies the central role as the clean fuel in the vision for a sustainable decarbonized economy. This is challenged by the transportation of low-density, highly flammable H2 gases. We develop catalytic systems that store H2 in organic molecules ("carriers") reversibly, which enables safe and easy transportation. We aim at exploring new catalyst spaces for the H2 storage/release chemistry, understanding the reaction mechanism, and revealing the roles of the carrier structure in the catalytic processes.
