Catalysis Science & Technology Emerging Investigator- Matteo Cargnello

Matteo Cargnello received his Ph.D. in Nanotechnology in 2012 at the University of Trieste, Italy, under the supervision of Prof. Paolo Fornasiero. He was then a post-doctoral scholar in the Chemistry Department at the University of Pennsylvania with Prof. Christopher B. Murray before joining the Faculty at Stanford University in January 2015. He is currently Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering and, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering and Vance D. and Arlene C. Coffman Faculty Scholar. Dr. Cargnello is the recipient of several awards including the Sloan Fellowship in 2018, the Mitsui Chemicals Catalysis Science Award for Creative Work in 2020, and the Early Career Award in Catalysis from the ACS Catalysis Division in 2022.

The general goals of the research in the Cargnello Group pertain to solving energy and environmental challenges. The group focuses on capture and conversion of carbon dioxide, emission control and reduction of methane and hydrocarbon emissions in the atmosphere, sustainable chemical practices through electro- and photocatalysis, sustainable production of hydrogen, and chemical recycling of plastics.

Find out more about the Cargnello Group on their webpage

Read Matteo’s Emerging Investigator article ‘Understanding the geometric and basicity effects of organic polymer modifiers on Ru/TiO2 catalysts for CO2 hydrogenation to hydrocarbons‘, DOI: 10.1039/D2CY01596J

1.  How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

Catalysis Science & Technology is a journal with the most exciting, deep fundamental and applied work in catalysis where it is possible to deeply learn about a catalytic process or phenomenon. I enjoyed publishing here our detailed work on fundamental structure-property relationships in hybrid catalysts, and I will continue to consider this journal as the prominent venue for careful and impactful catalysis work.

2. What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I am excited about the many possibilities that these hybrid systems can offer in directing selectivity in catalytic processes. We only just started learning about their properties for CO2 hydrogenation, and there are many other reactions and materials systems that we want to investigate. The space is large, so are the possibilities.

3. In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

How to control selectivity in catalytic transformations by tuning and controlling secondary interactions beyond adsorption binding strength on a specific active site. In other words, active site control beyond binding site.

4. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Ask yourself the right questions, and spend most of your time refining the question rather than looking for the answer.

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Emerging Investigator Series – Siwei Li

Siwei Li obtained his PhD in physical chemistry under the guidance of Prof. Ma Ding from Peking University in China in 2019. He used to work in Harbin Institute Technology as an assistant professor and then became a professor in Xi’an Jiaotong University since Jan. 2022. He has studied and developed heterogeneous catalysts related to energy and environment, such as CO2 hydrogenation and electrocatalytic/photocatalytic water splitting. He is interested in tuning the coordination environment of atomically dispersed catalysts and clusters.

Read Siwei’s Emerging Investigator Series article, “Chitosan-derived carbon supported CoO combined with CdS facilitates visible light catalytic hydrogen evolution“, DOI 10.1039/D2CY01962K.

 

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

As influenced by Prof. Ma Ding, my advisor, I have liked CST since I was a PhD student. I think CST is a high-impact journal in the field of catalysis.

 

 

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Catalysis Science & Technology Emerging Investigator- Ana C. Alba-Rubio

Dr. Ana C. Alba-Rubio is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Clemson University. Her research focuses on the rational design and synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts for sustainable processes, such as CO2 and biomass conversion.

Dr. Alba-Rubio has been recognized as one of the 2022 Catalysis Science & Technology Emerging Investigators, 2022 Energy & Fuels Rising Stars, 2021 Nanoscale Emerging Investigators, and 2020 Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research Class of Influential Researchers. She has also been named 2023 Early Career Fellow by the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry division of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Find out more about Ana’s work on her webpage

Follow Ana on Twitter and LinkedIn

Read Ana’s Emerging Investigator Series article, ‘Soluble and reusable polymer-based catalysts with Brønsted and Lewis acidity for the one-pot synthesis of hydroxymethylfurfural from glucose‘, DOI: 10.1039/D2CY01619B

1. How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

Catalysis Science & Technology is a well-respected journal in our community; therefore, I am proud to see our work published there.

2. What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

It is exciting to be a chemical engineer during the climate crisis because we are tackling important issues. However, dealing with complex problems requires deep thought and time, and current funding models seem to benefit those who explore new trends every few years.  

3. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Always trust your gut.

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Emerging Investigator Series – Peter Deuss

Peter Deuss completed his studies at the University of Amsterdam, NL and thereafter joined the group of Paul Kamer at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UK as a PhD student working on bioinspired catalysis. He obtained his degree in 2011, moving on to work on bioconjugation technology development at the MRC UK, Laboratory of Molecular Biology Cambridge in the group of Mike Gait. In 2013, he moved to the University of Groningen where, after post-doctoral work in the groups of Katalin Barta and Erik Heeres working on the catalytic conversion of renewable resources to chemicals, he started in 2016 as a tenure track assistant professor at the chemical engineering department of the Engineering and Technology Institute Groningen (ENTEG). He recently got promoted to Associate Professor Catalytic Processing of Sustainable Resources.

Read his open access Emerging Investigator article “Benign catalytic oxidation of potato starch using a homogeneous binuclear manganese catalyst and hydrogen peroxide“, DOI: 10.1039/D2CY01629J, and read more about his work in the interview below.

 

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

I consider Catalysis Science & Technology an excellent place for publishing catalysis research. It is a well-respected journal that includes a great mix of fundamental as well as applied catalysis research.

 

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

My biggest excitement comes from seeing young researchers grow into a topic and see them often surpass me on knowledge on specific aspects. Being part of this growth as a person and as a researcher brings a lot of satisfaction.

 

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

In relation to the catalysis for conversion of renewable resources, one of the key aspects is the integration of novel catalytic methodology into well established processes and how these should evolve to allow for fundamentally more sustainable and green chemistry to be implemented.

 

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Ensure you keep an interest in science beyond your field as it is at the interfaces that the most exciting and impactful developments take place.

 

Find out more about his research at the University of Groningen on twitter (@univgroningen) or Linked in.

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Emerging Investigator Series – Titel Jurca

Titel Jurca obtained his B.Sc. at the University of Ottawa where he was first introduced to catalysis research in Deryn Fogg’s group, and at the University of Windsor working for Doug Stephan on FLPs. He returned to the University of Ottawa for his Ph.D. with Darrin Richeson on group 13 coordination chemistry. In 2012 he joined Ian Manners at the University of Bristol as a Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow to work on main-group polymers. In 2015 he returned to North America to work in Tobin Marks’ group at Northwestern University on projects ranging from inorganic coordination compounds, to atomic layer deposition and heterogeneous catalysis. In 2017 he began his independent career at the University of Central Florida. His group works at the intersection of small molecules and materials chemistry to create new catalyst systems

Read his Emerging Investigator article “Robust palladium catalysts on nickel foam for highly efficient hydrogenations” and read more about his work in the interview below:

 

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

Catalysis Science & Technology is the perfect venue for this type of work – spanning materials science to catalytic application. The journal has an excellent reputation in the catalysis community, a great diversity of published research spanning all areas relevant to catalysis, and a global reach.

 

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

Our goal is to discover and develop increasingly complex hierarchical catalyst systems based on monolith cores. By developing hierarchical systems we incorporate multiple components and begin to delineate their influence/contribution to the whole system and how that correlates to catalyst performance in terms of reusability, reactivity, and selectivity. This is very exciting because we have a great deal of components we can combine to create these new systems, with the possibility of discovering many new and exciting catalysts. The most challenging aspect is also figuring out exactly how all of these components interact. The other difficulty is characterization of monolith systems and delineation of reaction mechanisms.

 

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

Just in the past few years we have made great strides in better understanding catalyst-support relationships. As we work with increasingly more complex catalyst systems, we now need to understand how all of the components are influencing each other. Along those lines, we still need to better understand preparative route to catalyst property relationships, even starting out from molecular precursors – for example we use atomic layer deposition as part of catalyst design and we need to understand what the impact of molecular precursor choice is on the resulting catalyst performance. Finally, we should strive to enhance reproducibility, which has always been a difficult topic in heterogeneous catalysis.

 

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Your greatest legacy is the success of the people you mentor. Do your best to prioritize those that have taken a chance on joining your group.

Keep up to date with Titel and his research on his lab website.

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Catalysis Science & Technology Emerging Investigator- Yi-Hsuan Lai

Yi-Hsuan Lai grew up in Taiwan and obtained her BSc in Chemical Engineering from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in 2007 and her MSc in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University in 2009. In 2011 she moved to the UK to pursue her PhD in solar water splitting in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge under the supervision of Professor Erwin Reisner. After receiving her PhD in 2015, she moved back to Taiwan and started her independent career in 2016 as an Assistant Professor at National Sun Yat-sen University. Since 2019, she has been an Assistant Professor at NCKU in the Materials Science and Engineering Department.

Her research interests include photoelectrochemistry, electrocatalysis, and sustainability. Her research group currently focuses on synthesising effective and robust materials and selective catalysts based on Earth-abundant elements for artificial photosynthesis and (photo)electrochemical organic waste valorisation.

Find out more about Yi-Hsuan’s research on her webpage

Read Yi-Hsuan Lai’s Emerging Investigator Series article, ‘Selective production of formate over a CuO electrocatalyst by electrochemical and photoelectrochemical biomass valorisation‘, DOI: 10.1039/D2CY00950A

1. How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

Catalysis Science & Technology is a renowned journal with high standards in the field of catalysis. I am, therefore, very grateful to have the chance to engage in the Emerging Investigator Series of Catalysis Science & Technology.

2. What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

Discovering a selective catalyst made of only earth-abundant elements for (photo)electrochemically organic waste valorisation and uncovering the corresponding mechanisms are the most exciting aspects of our work. We currently make more efforts on the rational design of earth-abundant electrocatalysts for achieving higher catalytic activity and stability.

3. Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Stay true to yourself and enjoy science despite obstacles and challenges.

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Catalysis Science & Technology Emerging Investigator- Prof. Dr. Viktoria Däschlein-Gessner

 

Photographer: @RUB, Marquard

Viktoria H. Gesner (Däschlein-Gessner) is Professor for Inorganic Chemistry at the Ruhr-University of Bochum (Germany). She obtained her PhD under the supervision of Prof. C. Strohmann at TU Dortmund in 2009 and was postdoc with Prof. T. D. Tilley at the University of California in Berkeley (USA). After a further postdoctoral stay with Prof. H. Braunschweig at the University of Würzburg she started her independent career and completed her Habilitation in 2015. Since 2016 she is Professor at the at the Ruhr-University of Bochum.

Viktoria’s research interests lie in the field of organometallic chemistry and catalysis. She has worked on the development of carbanionic and ylidic ligands for the stabilization of reactive main group compounds, the synthesis of new reagents and the design of new catalysts. Her group’s work has been published in more than 100 publications and recognized by series of awards and prices. Furthermore, she is mother of two children, loves running and good food and is a passionate soccer fan (Borussia Dortmund).

Read Viktoria’s Emerging Investigator article, ‘Synthesis of Sterically Encumbered Di- and Triarylamines by Palladium-Catalysed C-N Coupling Reactions at Mild Reaction Conditions’, DOI: 10.1039/D1CY02352G and check out her video interview below to find out more about her work and advice for early-career researchers

 

You can keep up to date with Viktoria and her research on Twitter @ViktoriaGessner

 

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Catalysis Science & Technology Emerging Investigator- Luis Miguel Azofra

Luis Miguel Azofra (Ramón y Cajal Fellow) loves Quantum Chemistry as much as the sea. The latter was a gift he received for being born in the Canary Islands, the first is a passion he learned during his PhD in Prof Alkorta’s lab (CSIC, Spain). In 2015, Dr Sun and Prof MacFarlane introduced him to the field of catalysis (Monash University, Australia), and in 2016 he joined Prof Cavallo’s group as an in-silico designer (KAUST, Saudi Arabia). Currently, Dr Azofra is an early-career research leader at Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where he combines his efforts as a researcher and lecturer.

Find out more about Luis Miguel Azofra’s work on his webpage

Read Luis Miguel Azofra’s Emerging Investigator Series article, ‘Competition between metal-catalysed electroreduction of dinitrogen, protons, and nitrogen oxides: a DFT perspective’, DOI: 10.1039/D2CY00389A and check out our interview below

 

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

Catalysis is amongst the broadest topics in chemical research and we, the researchers, need spaces that host these findings. In this aspect, CS&T is a point of reference to communicate your research in catalysis. But in addition, it is a point of reference to learn about the extensive outstanding research in the catalytic field that is carried out all over the world. Broad scope, high-quality research, exhaustive peer-review process, and endorsed by the Royal Society of Chemistry. I think this says it all.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

Well, I have been quite lucky to have been doing research in some of the most important leading R&D centres across the world during my PhD and postdoc stages. Undoubtedly, the experience gained over the years has allowed me to have achieved the highest goal that a researcher in Spain can dream of, that is, being awarded the Ramón y Cajal research fellow in chemical sciences. It will be five years of intense research activity in which I will dedicate significant efforts into two areas of great current interest, which are the development of second-generation catalysts for the synthesis of green ammonia and the revisiting of the light-assisted organometallic chemistry for the transformation of organic molecules with applications in fine chemistry.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

Wow! For the first, the challenge is undoubtedly the searching of novel materials capable of suppress the generation of hydrogen in favour of the transformation of nitrogen into ammonia and doing it in good yields and production rates. I strongly believe that the theoretical research has much to say in this topic, not only explaining the reaction mechanisms fitting to the experimental results of our colleagues working in the lab, but also predicting prior-to-synthesis behaviours. In this concern, it seems that all efforts should be put into what it seems the best strategy developed so far, i.e., the lithium-mediated nitrogen reduction process. How much remains to be done in optimising the reaction? Can the catalyst be improved with structural modifications? Is there something better beyond lithium? These are some of the questions to which we will have to seek answers. Concerning the second, in recent years, remarkable advances have been described with outstanding investigations at the experimental level. And I say it, because I just attended to the 2023 KAUST Research Conference where some of the most prominent researchers in the field have attested it with their terrific and outstanding presentations. In my opinion, at theoretical level there is little support, so much remains to be done, not only at the level of research production but also in terms of nuts and bolts.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

“Ancora imparo”, this is the motto of MonashUni, one of my former institutions. It means ‘I am still learning’. So, always have to be learning, be thirsty to learn new techniques, introduce yourself to new topics, set yourself new challenges, never give up, surround yourself with good professionals, do not want to be better than others but every day give the best version of yourself and, of course, enjoy your life —we only have one.

Follow Luis Miguel Azofra on Twitter @Azofra_LM  to keep up to date with his latest research

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Catalysis Science & Technology Emerging Investigator- Caroline Saouma

Caroline Saouma was born in Pittsburgh, PA and grew up between Boulder, Colorado and Lausanne, Switzerland. After visiting NIST (The National Institute of Standards and Technology) as a second grader, she knew she wanted to be a scientist. She went to MIT to complete her bachelor’s degree in chemistry, where she did research with Steve Lippard on developing cisplatin analogues that target specific malignancies. She then went to Caltech to complete her PhD under the supervision of Jonas Peters, where she investigated iron-mediated reductions of CO2 and N2. Her postdoctoral work with Jim Mayer focused on PCET reactions of synthetic FeS clusters and MOFs. As an assistant professor at the University of Utah, her group is focused on mechanistic studies and catalyst design for energy, with an emphasis on CO2 capture and recycling. She is a strong advocate of equity in the sciences, serving as a mentor to several groups and integrating diversity, equity, and inclusivity discussions into her undergraduate courses. For this and her contributions to education, she was named an NBA Utah Jazz and Instructure/CANVAS “Most Valuable Educator” in 2022, one of only 21 educators selected from the entire state of Utah (and the only non-K-12 educator). Outside of work, she enjoys the outdoors and is an avid cyclist and cross-country skier.

 

Read Caroline’s Emerging Investigator article, ‘Large changes in hydricity as a function of charge and not metal in (PNP)M–H (de)hydrogenation catalysts that undergo metal–ligand cooperativity’, DOI:10.1039/D2CY01349E and read our interview below.

 

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

I enjoy the breadth of the journal, while still being focused on catalysis. As such, it is one of my favorite journals to read because I can see how others approach similar problems with different approaches, or use similar approaches to tackle different problems.

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

My work is broadly focused on developing catalysts for future energy schemes, as well as integrated carbon capture and recycling systems. I am most excited about the future – what we, collectively as scientists, will be able to achieve by taking different approaches and being inspired by one another.

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

To me, thinking about the global future infrastructure is integral, and so doing science that can contribute to this effort is important. I do believe that the solution will not come from one approach or system, so I am all for a team effort from diverse scientific specialties to work on future energy schemes.

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

Always believe in yourself. When needed, seek guidance or mentorship from others, and be willing to self-evaluate and make changes when needed. But deep down, never doubt or give up on yourself.

You can follow Caroline’s research group on Twitter @saoumagrp

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Catalysis Science & Technology Emerging Investigator- Esteban Mejía

Esteban Mejía studied chemistry at National University of Colombia in Bogota, where he also obtained his master’s degree with focus in polymer chemistry. In 2008 he moved to Switzerland to pursue his PhD in homogeneous catalysis at the ETH Zurich under the supervision of Antonio Togni. In 2012 he joined the group of Matthias Beller at the Leibniz Institute for Catalysis (LIKAT) in Rostock (Germany) as a postdoc. Later, he joined the group of Udo Kragl as senior scientist. In 2014 he started his independent career at LIKAT where he completed his Habilitation in 2020 (German equivalent to tenured professorship). He is currently leader of the group of Biocatalysis & Polymer Chemistry at the same institution and coordinator of the bilateral project (Rostock and Hanoi): RoHan – Catalysis SDG Graduate School. His current research focuses on homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, photochemistry, organometallic chemistry, polymers, materials, and sustainability.

Read Esteban’s Open Access Emerging Investigator article, ‘Highly Active Heterogenous Hydrogenation Catalysts Prepared from Cobalt Complexes and Rice Husk Waste’, DOI: 10.1039/D2CY00005A and find out more about Esteban and his work in our interview.

 

How do you feel about Catalysis Science & Technology as a place to publish research on this topic?

Catalysis Science & Technology offers a perfect milieu for both fundamental researches, as well as application-oriented technologies. For projects like this one, where the realization/implementation of the developed processes is our ultimate goal, and at the same time we aim to reach the broadest readership possible, it only makes sense to publish it here.

 

What aspect of your work are you most excited about at the moment and what do you find most challenging about your research?

I am certainly excited about seeing our catalysts someday being used in “real-life” applications, and our developed process being used to tackle the technological challenges we devise them for. However, to successfully jump from the bench to the pilot plant is certainly a challenge that requires more than good ideas and generous funding. Most of the time are social or political hurdles (or simply the people’s mindset) the highest activation barriers that we need to surmount.

 

In your opinion, what are the most important questions to be asked/answered in this field of research?

In my opinion, in the field of green chemistry, the most important questions one must ask are “how does this research/process contributes to the overall picture?”, “does it really makes an improvement to status quo?” Apart from the exciting science, it is important to keep always an eye on sustainability aspects like mass-balances, energy consumption, carbon footprint, etc. The achievement of our sustainability goals is only possible by addressing catalysis in a holistic manner.

 

Can you share one piece of career-related advice or wisdom with other early career scientists?

When performing an experiment and assessing the results, you can have two options: either you get what you like, or you like what you get. Every time you interrogate a system you obtain a bit of information that eventually fits in your hypothesis, or helps to refine it or reformulate it. So, don’t get discouraged if you don’t get what you were looking for! Every piece of data is valuable! there are no such things as “bad results”!

 

Find out more about Esteban’s recent work on his group website

You can also follow Esteban on LinkedIn

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