PME Distinguished Colloquium Series Seminar - Daniel Frisbie

Heterogeneous catalysis is well-known to be sensitive to electron accumulation or depletion on surfaces, but electron density is usually controlled by chemical doping (e.g., promoters) in the case of thermocatalysis, or electrochemical potential in the case of electrocatalysis. The recent advent of ultrathin two-dimensional (2D) catalysts prepared either by exfoliation or thin film growth methods opens up new opportunities to exploit the transverse field effect—so central to silicon CMOS technology—to modulate the carrier density in the catalyst (or electrocatalyst). In this approach, the 2D catalyst material is deposited on top of a metal/dielectric stack to make a capacitor (aka ‘condenser’); application of a voltage between the catalyst and the metal causes positive or negative charge to accumulate in the catalyst, depending on the sign of the voltage. This charge, in turn, tunes the reactivity of active sites in the catalytic layer, accelerating the rate of reaction on its top surface. This talk will describe some early results for two specific types of catalytic condensers, one in electrocatalysis and the other for a thermocatalytic reaction. In general, catalytic condensers provide a platform for fundamental investigation of electronic effects in
electro- and thermocatalysis, as well as a strategy for dynamic control of reaction rates, which is currently of intense interest in the catalysis community.

<a href="https://uchicago.zoom.us/j/95861017499?pwd=QXhCampRQ29ibEpTUENRbjhod1My… Link </a>