Tuesday, September 7, 2021 featured:
Professor Chong Liu from UCLA
"Electrochemical Activation of Light Alkanes at Low Temperatures"
Link: https://virginia.zoom.us/j/92468456009?pwd=UzJzUDkvQlNxeXhDNW1FRnljQ3pvQT09
Abstract:
Low-temperature electrochemical catalysis is attractive to utilize and convert light alkanes into commodity chemicals with the supply of renewable energy. While the activation of C-H bond in light alkanes, in particular methane (CH4), has been challenging, approaches driven by electrochemistry offer additional degrees of freedom for the establishment of new catalytic systems. Here we report our recent progress of developing new electrocatalysis for the selective activation of CH4 at low temperature and pressure. Electrochemical charger transfer yields new intermediates ambiently reactive towards CH4, and the electrochemistry-enabled spatial control of catalytic species warrants an ambient CH4-to-CH3OH process with seemingly incompatible steps. Mechanistic understanding of those reported systems guides us to develop advanced electrocatalysis of light alkane activation in the future.
Bio:
Prof. Liu earned his B.S. in chemistry from Fudan University, China, in 2008, and a Ph. D in chemistry from the University of California, Berkeley in 2013 under the supervision of Prof. Peidong Yang. His thesis focused on artificial photosynthesis that uses solar energy to synthesize selective chemicals. He continued his career at Harvard University, working with Prof. Daniel Nocera as a Lee Kuan Yew postdoctoral fellow. At Harvard, he developed inorganic/bio hybrid systems of solar-driven CO2 and N2 fixation with the efficiencies higher than natural counterparts. Prof. Liu joined UCLA Chemistry & Biochemistry in 2017. Prof. Liu is the recipient of several awards including Scialog Fellow from Research Corporation for Science Advancement (2020), 2020 Innovator under 35 of China from MIT Technology Review, 2020 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) from National Institute of General Medical Science, Emerging Investigator 2020 from the Journal of Materials Chemistry, and 2014 Graduate Student Silver Award from Materials Research Society.
Host: Prof. Sen Zhang, University of Virginia