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Dr. Aicheng Chen
University of Guelph
Design and Electrochemical Study of 2D and 3D Nanostructured Catalysts for the Conversion of Greenhouse Gases
Wednesday, November 07, 2024
SSB 7172 @ 5:00 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.
Host: Dr. Hogan Yu
Chem 419/819 Guest Lecture
Abstract
There is a growing interest in developing high-performance catalysts for the electrochemical reduction conversion of greenhouse gases to address the increasingly serious impacts of global climate change. In this talk, I will present the design of different two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) nanostructured catalysts for the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) and the electrochemical oxidation of methane (CH4). The morphology, composition and structure of the synthesized Au-, Cu- and Co-based nanomaterials were characterized with various imaging and spectroscopic techniques, including FE-SEM, TEM, XRD, EDX and XPS. The effects of applied potential on the CO2 reduction and the CH4 oxidation were investigated using various electrochemical methods. The products generated from the CO2 reduction and the CH4 oxidation were determined by gas chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) was also employed to monitor the activity of the catalysts and the CO2 reduction products. The kinetics of the CO2 reduction reaction at the nanomaterials was further studied using in situ electrochemical Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The critical roles of nanostructured surfaces in the electrochemical conversion of CO2 and CH4 will be highlighted.
Biography
Aicheng Chen is a Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Electrochemical Technology Centre at the University of Guelph, and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair (CRC) in Electrochemistry and Nanoscience. He received his PhD from the University of Guelph in 1998 under the supervision of Prof. J. Lipkowski. After working in the chemical industry for four years as a Research Scientist and Electrochemical Specialist, Chen joined Lakehead University as an Assistant Professor in 2002, where he was promoted to Associate Professor in 2005, Tier 2 CRC in 2006, and Professor in 2010. Professor Chen rejoined the University of Guelph in 2017.
Chen’s research interests span the areas of electrochemistry, photoelectrochemistry, biosensors, and nanoscience. He has published ~300 peer-reviewed journal articles and several book chapters. He has been Associate Editor of the Canadian Journal of Chemistry, Section Editor of Current Opinion in Electrochemistry and Editor of Electrochimic Acta. For his accomplishments, Professor Chen has received a number of awards, including the Ontario Premier’s Research Excellence Award (2003); the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invitation Fellowship (2006); the Lash Miller Award (2009) and the R.C. Jacobsen Award (2020) of the Electrochemical Society Canada Section; the Fred Beamish Award (2009), the Keith Laidler Award (2012), the Canadian Catalysis Lectureship Award (2013), the W.A.E. McBryde Medal (2016) and the Ricardo Aroca Award (2023) of the Canadian Society for Chemistry. He has also been elected as Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK), and Fellow of the International Society of Electrochemistry.