DESCRIPTION

4.00pm - 5.00pm
Seminar: Plasmonic Enhanced Catalysis Based on Rh Nanostructures for Carbon Dioxide Hydrogenation
Robert's Building, Room 309
Key note speaker: Professor Jie Liu from Duke University

5.00pm - 6.00pm
Poster presentation / drinks reception and networking
Robert's Building, Room 310

Traditional heterogeneous catalysis that requires high temperatures to overcome reaction barriers often activates undesired side reactions that must be mitigated. Photocatalytic reactions on semiconductors can proceed near room temperature but are primarily used for reactions that require little selectivity. Here we introduce rhodium nanoparticles as a compelling new photocatalyst whose excellent catalytic and plasmonic properties combine to reduce the activation energy and selectively determine products for the important carbon dioxide hydrogenation reaction. The reduced activation energy and strong sensitivity to light cause the room temperature photocatalytic methane production rate to exceed the thermocatalytic rate at 350°C.

Biography

Jie Liu is currently the George B Geller Professor of Chemistry at Duke University. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Shandong University in 1987 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1996. His research interests include synthesis and chemical functionalization of nanomaterials, plasmonic catalysis, nanoelectronic devices, scanning probe microscopy, and carbon nanomaterials. As a faculty member, Professor Liu has received the DuPont Young Professor Award, Outstanding Oversea Young Investigator Award from NSF-China, Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and Bass Professorship from Duke University for excellence in teaching and research. He is elected as a Fellow in AAAS (2013), APS (2014) and RSC (2013). He also serves as an associate editor for RSC journal Nanoscale since 2012.