Distinguished Materials Hub Seminar / Poster Presentation and Networking on 09 May

Key note speaker Professor Jie Liu from Duke University was invited by Dr.

Junwang Tang to host a seminar entitled "Light, Heat & Catalysts" on Tuesday 9 May 2017, 4.00pm - 5.00pm, Robert's Building, Room 309

The seminar was followed by a Poster Presentation / drinks reception and networking event from 5.00pm - 6.00pm in Room 310.

Traditional heterogeneous catalysis that requires high temperatures to overcome reaction barriers often activates undesired side reactions that must be mitigated. Photocatalytic reactions on semiconductors can proceed near room temperature but are primarily used for reactions that require little selectivity. Here we introduce rhodium nanoparticles as a compelling new photocatalyst whose excellent catalytic and plasmonic properties combine to reduce the activation energy and selectively determine products for the important carbon dioxide hydrogenation reaction. The reduced activation energy and strong sensitivity to light cause the room temperature photocatalytic methane production rate to exceed the thermocatalytic rate at 350°C.

Biography

Jie Liu is currently the George B Geller Professor of Chemistry at Duke University. He earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Shandong University in 1987 and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1996. His research interests include synthesis and chemical functionalization of nanomaterials, plasmonic catalysis, nanoelectronic devices, scanning probe microscopy, and carbon nanomaterials. As a faculty member, Professor Liu has received the DuPont Young Professor Award, Outstanding Oversea Young Investigator Award from NSF-China, Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award from Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and Bass Professorship from Duke University for excellence in teaching and research. He is elected as a Fellow in AAAS (2013), APS (2014) and RSC (2013). He also serves as an associate editor for RSC journal Nanoscale since 2012.

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