Our research focuses on developing novel routes to the design and synthesis of catalysts, adsorbents, and other functional materials via modification of existing surfaces with organic and organometallic molecules. These materials are found in nearly every industrial chemical process on the planet, and are one of the primary agents of change to make a process greener and more sustainable by removing energy intensive processing, stoichiometric oxidants and salt byproducts. We use surface-grafted molecules to create hybrid organic-inorganic materials that engage in cooperativities between acid, base, and redox groups that are difficult to engineer with traditional homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts, as identified in a recent review. In addition to creating new and improved catalysts, our materials synthesis routes are designed to create well-behaved materials possessing structures that that are implicated as active sites in traditionally synthesized materials but may otherwise appear infrequently, are unstable, or unable to be characterized. Having such model materials will allow traditional materials to be optimized through robust structure-function relationships.
We are interested in many diverse reaction classes that have potential benefits in creating energy efficient, atom efficient, or sustainable processes. These reactions include selective hydrogenations and oxidations, novel reactions for generating useful chemical intermediates from non-traditional feedstocks (natural gas, bioproducts). The low-temperature activation of molecular oxygen and nitrogen and the development of photocatalysts are long-term goals. We are also deeply involved in creating adsorbents to complement these catalytic structures. These materials are designed to possess a modifiable, energetically uniform type of adsorption site capable of separations that have demanding processing conditions such as enantioselectivity or extraction from dilute streams. We also combine our two research areas for creating catalysts that are product or reactant selective by virtue of adsorption modifying groups on the surface.
Our research focuses on developing novel routes to the design and synthesis of catalysts, adsorbents, and other functional materials via modification of existing surfaces with organic and organometallic molecules. These materials are found in nearly every industrial chemical process on the planet, and are one of the primary agents of change to make a process greener and more sustainable by removing energy intensive processing, stoichiometric oxidants and salt byproducts. We use surface-grafted molecules to create hybrid organic-inorganic materials that engage in cooperativities between acid, base, and redox groups that are difficult to engineer with traditional homogeneous or heterogeneous catalysts, as identified in a recent 
We are interested in many diverse reaction classes that have potential benefits in creating energy efficient, atom efficient, or sustainable processes. These reactions include selective hydrogenations and oxidations, novel reactions for generating useful chemical intermediates from non-traditional feedstocks (natural gas, bioproducts). The low-temperature activation of molecular oxygen and nitrogen and the development of photocatalysts are long-term goals. We are also deeply involved in creating adsorbents to complement these catalytic structures. These materials are designed to possess a modifiable, energetically uniform type of adsorption site capable of separations that have demanding processing conditions such as enantioselectivity or extraction from dilute streams. We also combine our two research areas for creating catalysts that are product or reactant selective by virtue of adsorption modifying groups on the surface.