学科进展系列报告

报告题目：Controlling kinetic branching in CO2 reduction electrocatalysis

The electrochemical reduction of CO2 to CO, methane and ethylene presents an attractive route for transforming renewable energy into fuels. However, the lack of selective, active, and inexpensive catalyst materials remains a key hurdle to widespread application of this process. Guided by mechanistic insight into the origin of electrocatalytic activity and selectivity on metal surfaces, the seminar will introduce design principles for controlling kinetic branchpoints in CO2 reduction reactions. Specifically, I will discuss how CO2 conversion to CO can be modulated by the molecular structure of cations in the electrolyte as well as the presence of atomic layer deposition (ALD) coatings on copper. I will then show how non-aqueous model systems enable a fundamental understanding of CO to hydrocarbon conversion, which  can be further exploited to modulate both the rate and the ratio of ethylene and methane production.

报告人：Prof. Marcel Schreier, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Marcel Schreier received his bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering from EPFL and his master’s degree in Chemical and Bioengineering from ETH Zurich. During his studies, Marcel worked on Li-Ion Batteries at BASF and investigated Fischer-Tropsch refining catalysts at the University of Alberta. His master’s research was performed in the laboratory of Sossina Haile at Caltech, where he designed materials for fuel cell electrodes. He subsequently joined the laboratory of Michael Grätzel at EPFL, where he developed electrocatalysts and devices for the sunlight-driven reduction of CO2 to fuels. Following his passion for fundamental electrochemistry, he then moved to MIT, where he joined the group of Yogi Surendranath as an SNSF Postdoctoral Fellow. There, Marcel investigated the fundamental mechanisms which drive the synthesis of fuels using electrical energy, before joining the University of Wisconsin, Madison as an Assistant Professor in Chemical Engineering. Marcel’s research interests center on understanding how the configuration of the electrochemical interface and the catalyst surface chemistry interact to define the outcome of electrocatalytic transformations. He uses this insight to extend the reaction scope of electrocatalytic transformations beyond the activation of small inorganic molecules.

报告时间：2019年10月16日，周三，15:30

报告地点：江湾化学楼A3030

邀请人：乔亮 研究员