Catalysis Science & Technology Blog

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.

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

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

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

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