Congratulations to Linsey Seitz, who was named a 2025 Sloan research fellow! Gifted by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the honor highlights the creativity, innovation, and research accomplishments of early-career researchers. Read more about the award at the Sloan website here and the McCormick School of Engineering announcement here.
Robby successfully defends his PhD thesis!
Congratulations to Robby Lu on defending his thesis titled, “Electrifying Chemicals, Fuels, and Building Materials Production: Catalyst Design, Operation Optimization, and Application Expansion.” After completing his work at Northwestern, he will join Honeywell Aerospace for an R&D Engineer position! Heartfelt congratulations, Robby! You will be missed!
Danielle, Matt, and Stephanie join the team!
Three new first year graduate students have joined the group! Welcome Danielle Getz (not pictured), Matt Schiavone, and Stephanie Pecaut!!
Kavi successfully defends her PhD thesis!
Congratulations to Kavitha Chintam for successfully defending her PhD thesis! Kavi will start her new position in mid-January with Vote Solar, a non-profit organization that works towards realizing a 100% clean energy future through a solutions-driven, people-first approach. Heartfelt congratulations, Kavi! You will be missed!
Linsey accepts ACS Early Career Award in Catalysis!
Linsey accepts ACS Early Career Award in Catalysis!
Linsey attended the American Chemical Society National Meeting in Denver, Colorado to accept the 2024 ACS Early Career Award in Catalysis. This award recognizes and encourages accomplishments and innovation of unusual merit by an individual in early stages of their career, emphasizing independence and creativity. Prof. Seitz’s accomplishments were celebrated during an awards symposium on August 20; invited speakers included Justin Notestein, Alex Bell, Lars Grabow, Sossina Haile, and Eranda Nikolla, in addition to a feature presentation by Linsey!
Brianna and Robby publish a paper on boron and nitrogen doped carbon catalysts for hydrogen peroxide production
Brianna and Robby publish a paper on boron and nitrogen doped carbon catalysts for hydrogen peroxide production
This shared first-author paper by Brianna and Robby, describes the superior performance of a series of boron and nitrogen doped carbon catalysts for hydrogen peroxide production via the two-electron oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), uniquely operating in neutral media. These catalysts are demonstrated in three different reactor geometries, spanning from fundamental studies in a rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) to more applied geometries using gas diffusion electrode (GDE) flow cell and a double membrane electrode assembly (MEA) solid electrolyte electrolyzer. In the latter two reactors, we demonstrate that these catalysts are capable of achieving 70-80% Faradaic efficiency and reaching final product concentrations that are directly relevant for disinfectant applications or for wastewater treatment (2-4+ wt%). A comprehensive spectroscopic analysis using x-ray photoelectron and soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy at complementary B, N, C, and O edges complements the electrochemical and physical analyses to provide new insights for the underlying cause of the enhanced activity. Congratulations Brianna and Robby!
AJ publishes a paper on chlorine mediated selective epoxidation of cyclohexene
AJ publishes a paper on chlorine mediated selective epoxidation of cyclohexene
AJ’s paper demonstrates a liquid diffusion electrode (LDE) reactor that enables greater than 90% selective electrochemically-driven oxidation of cyclohexene to cyclohexene oxide through a chlorine-mediated pathway. This system enables Faradaic efficiencies of ~80% and ~65% at 50 and 100 mA/cm2 respectively, with >90% selectivity in both cases. The LDE reactor geometry utilizes an engineered, porous electrode that separates the aqueous electrolyte from the pure-phase organic reactant, thereby avoiding mass transfer limitations and use of solvent that are typical disadvantages for the more common, mixed phase organic / aqueous electrosynthetic approaches. We use a non-precious metal catalyst, cobalt oxide, to electrochemically oxidize chloride ions, another abundant element, to in situ generate active chlorine species which interact with the cyclohexene throughout the pores of the electrode. We explore the effects of pH, halide identity/concentration, and current density on product selectivity, separation in aqueous vs. organic phases, and Faradaic efficiency. We also provide evidence via differential electrochemical mass spectroscopy and ion chromatography with conductivity detection to identify Cl2 as the active chlorine species responsible for oxidation. Congratulations AJ!
Bing publishes a paper experimentally identifying the active site motifs on restructured iridium oxide catalysts for acidic water oxidation
Bing publishes a paper experimentally identifying the active site motifs on restructured iridium oxide catalysts for acidic water oxidation
Bing’s paper reports deep insights for the ubiquitous surface restructuring of iridium oxide catalysts upon use for electrochemical water oxidation towards production of green hydrogen. We use advanced x-ray and electron scattering as well as cutting-edge S/TEM techniques and establish a minimal-dose workflow to enable damage-free imaging and analysis of structural motifs present at the surface of these amorphized iridium oxide catalysts. Stability testing and in situ spectroscopy provide insights to the dynamic behavior of these surface structures, while density functional theory characterizes the predicted activity of each identified structural motif. Collectively, this work enables design and synthesis of paracrystalline iridium oxide catalysts with superior activity and durability requiring minimized iridium utilization for optimal application in sustainable electrocatalytic technologies and provides a roadmap for accurately characterizing these and other complex, dynamic material structures. Congratulations Bing and co-authors!!
Ruihan successfully defends her PhD thesis!
Ruihan successfully defends her PhD thesis!
Ruihan successfully presented and defended her PhD thesis work entitled, “Investigating the Degradation Mechanisms of Precious- vs. Non-precious Metal-based Catalysts for Enhanced Oxygen Evolution Reaction in Acidic Media.” She is the fourth PhD student to graduate from the Seitz Lab. A heartfelt congratulations, Ruihan!!
After completing her research at Northwestern, Ruihan will join Honeywell UOP as an R&D Engineer Scientist working on catalyst product development and scale-up!
Matt publishes a paper synthesizing and characterizing unique structural distortions in a novel perovskite oxynitride material
Matt publishes a paper synthesizing and characterizing unique structural distortions in a novel perovskite oxynitride material
Matt’s paper challenges the conventional reporting of crystal symmetry in perovskite oxynitrides through exploration of the crystal structure of CaW(O,N)3, which we synthesize for the first time. Traditional literature simplifies perovskite oxynitrides by using high-symmetry unit cells with fractional anion occupancy (e.g., sites comprised of 50% O and 50% N). While these models provide a convenient approximation, they can never accurately reflect the true nature of perovskite oxynitrides. We use complementary X-ray and neutron diffraction techniques and Reitveld refinement with numerous literature-derived and computationally-derived structures to bring unique insight into sources of disorder that are not captured within the traditional structural models. Congratulations Matt!