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Youxun Xu obtained his BSc and MSc degree from the School of Materials Science in Northwestern Polytechnical University on the program of photoelectrochemical water splitting. He is now a PhD student in Prof. Junwang Tang's group at the Department of Chemical Engineering of UCL, focusing his research on photocatalytic methane conversion.
Research project
Title: Photocatalytic methane conversion to C2+ in a high-pressure batch reactor
The conversion of methane (CH4) to upgraded fuels and higher-value chemicals such as methanol and olefins is a promising technology in the supply of chemicals and energy. However, methane is a very stable and inert molecule with the first dissociation energy at 439 kJ mol-1 due to its symmetrical tetrahedral structure. Currently, commercial methane conversion technology suffers from intense energy consumption. Thus, it is highly desirable to develop novel strategies for methane conversion with improved efficiency and lower cost. Photocatalysis has emerged as a promising method to drive or promote methane conversion under mild conditions. The utilization of photoenergy and appropriate photocatalysts could easily overcome the reaction barriers (such as C–H bond activation) to realize methane conversion at lower temperatures. However, the conversion rate and selectivity for photocatalytic CH4 conversion is still very low and the mechanism of the reaction pathways remain in the preliminary stages. This project is aimed to design novel reacting system and search for efficient photocatalysts and cocatalysts for photocatalytic CH4 conversion.
Education
BSc in Composite Materials and Engineering, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China, 2017
MSc in Materials Science, Northwestern Polytechnical University, China, 2020
