Description:

Center for Catalysis and Surface Science (CCSS) Student Seminar Series

Friday, May 16, 2025 | 12-1pm CT
Ryan Hall, 4003 | 2190 Campus Drive
Lunch provided

Join the Center for Catalysis and Surface Science (CCSS) for the Student Seminar Series. Hear from graduate students and postdoctoral scholars during two presentations. This month's speakers are Zamira Harris-Ryden and Olivia Bennett.

About the Presentations

Speaker: Olivia Bennett

Title: "Investigating metal-support interactions on CO2 hydrogenation in nonthermal plasma catalysis"

Abstract: 

Nonthermal plasma is a chemically unique environment composed of disproportionately high levels of vibrationally and electronically excited species.  When utilized in conjunction with a heterogeneous catalyst, chemical conversions at low temperatures can be achieved.  The influence of metal-support interactions between group 13 oxides (γ-Al2O3, c-In2O3, and β-Ga2O3) and Cu nanoparticles were studied in the plasma-chemical hydrogenation of CO2 to value-added chemicals such as CO, methane, and oxygenates. Cu/c-In2O3 reactivity was distinct, achieving 25% CO2 conversions stable over eight hours.  We hypothesize surface oxygen vacancies facilitate CO2 absorption, increasing activity.

Speaker: Zamira Harris-Ryden

Title: "The high-throughput discovery of triplet photosensitizers using selective photoreactions and analysis via SAMDI-MS"

Abstract:

Triplet photosensitizers (PS) are compounds with easily accessible triplet states. Upon irradiation, these compounds can catalyze organic reactions and have applications in photodynamic therapy, bioimaging, and polymer deconstruction. While many photosensitizers rely on the heavy-atom effect, organic photosensitizers without heavy atoms suffer from a lack of design rules, leading to a bottleneck to the identification of new catalysts. This work seeks to overcome this challenge by using selective photoreactions to “tag” successful organic photosensitizer candidates. Ketone photosensitizers such as benzophenone are known to undergo H-atom abstraction and subsequent radical recombination due to a low-lying n-π* transition. We designed a tag compound that reacts with ketone photosensitizers upon irradiation to produce a new C-C bond and install a handle for click chemistry. I am also exploring other selective photoreactions to tag diverse classes of photosensitizers through a Dexter Energy Transfer mechanism. Following irradiation, reaction mixtures are analyzed with SAMDI-MS, a technique that integrates monolayer chemistry with TOF-MS for high-throughput reaction screening. Ultimately, the quantitative results of our experiments will inform machine learning algorithms to discover the next generation of organic PS for applications in organic catalysis and beyond.

The mission of the Center for Catalysis and Surface Science (CCSS) is to promote interdisciplinary research fundamental to the discovery, synthesis, and understanding of catalysts and catalytic reactions essential to modern society. As a part of the Paula M. Trienens Institute for Sustainability and Energy, CCSS applies fundamental advances in catalysis science towards applications in alternative fuels, abatement of harmful emissions, resource recovery concepts, new processing routes, and many other strategies towards making chemicals more sustainable.