(2cw) Voltage As a Driving Force for Sustainably Forming Chemical Bonds

In chemical synthesis, the making and breaking of chemical bonds often requires traversing large energy differences. Traditionally, industrial chemical synthesis has relied on pressure and temperature to drive chemical reactions, and the energy to elevate the pressure and temperature generally comes from fossil fuel sources. These chemical reactors also often require centralized locations so that economies of scale make them profitable (e.g., ammonia synthesis). However, with the advent of distributed and accessible renewable electricity, it is attractive to consider driving chemical reactions that are conventionally driven using temperature and pressure with renewable electricity instead. I am interested in leveraging voltage as a sustainable driving force for making and breaking chemical bonds and developing an understanding of both the fundamentals and practicalities of electrochemical reactors for industrial chemical synthesis. Through electrification of the chemical industry, we have an opportunity to further integrate the chemical and energy industries, motivating and leveraging decentralized renewable energy sources for chemical manufacturing.

Doctoral Research. My doctoral research with Prof. Karthish Manthiram at MIT focused on the intersection of theory and experiment to understand how voltage can enable electrification and decarbonization of the chemical industry. Specifically, my research spanned the following projects:

(1) Exploring the broad question of how to compare electrochemical routes with traditional thermochemical routes for chemical transformations and developing a framework for comparing voltage, temperature, and pressure as thermodynamic driving forces to quantitatively discriminate between energy sources.

(2) Investigating the kinetics of electrochemical ammonia oxidation, i.e., the breaking of the nitrogen-hydrogen bonds.

(3) Demonstrating how an applied potential can help form carbon-nitrogen bonds in an electrochemical analogue to traditional reductive amination and studying the influence of solvent, heterogeneous catalyst, and voltage on the mechanism.

(4) Advancing an energy storage paradigm that leverages ammonium formate, a combination of ammonia and formic acid that forms an ionic liquid at slightly elevated temperatures, to store renewable electricity and building a proof-of-concept device.

In all of these projects, I combined fundamental chemistry, ranging from density functional theory to Marcus theory, with traditional chemical reactor design to develop and understand electrochemical systems.

Postdoctoral Research. My post-doctoral research with Prof. Harry Atwater at Caltech focuses on the intersection of light and electrochemistry as a tool for driving chemical reactions. As part of the Liquid Sunlight Alliance, I am exploring chemical mechanisms and system design for carbon dioxide reduction. Additionally, I am designing and testing catalysts for photo(electro)catalytic nitrogen reduction to ammonia. As part of an ARPA-E project, I am building and optimizing systems for electrochemical sequestration of carbon from seawater. This project requires a combination COMSOL, ASPEN, and experimental design to demonstrate practical and efficient direct ocean capture of carbon dioxide.

Future research. My research lab will combine fundamental electrochemistry with chemical reactor design to understand and develop systems for sustainably making and breaking chemical bonds. We will focus on (i) leveraging multiple energy sources, e.g., heat, to drive electrochemical reactions, whereas traditional electrochemistry has focused primarily on room temperature electrolysis; (ii) exploring convection of electrolytes in electrochemical systems as a tool to improve reaction selectivity, increase current, and optimize reactor design; and (iii) developing heterogeneous catalysts in conjunction with the previous thrusts for electrochemical syntheses such as hydrogenations, formation of nitrogen bonds, and more. By combining my experiences with fundamental electrocatalysis, electrochemical modelling, and electrochemical reactor design, I can take advantage of significant opportunities for the advancement of renewable electricity as a tool for sustainable chemical synthesis.

Teaching Interests

I am prepared to teach any core chemical engineering course at an undergraduate or graduate level and am particularly excited about teaching thermodynamics and transport. Broadly, I believe in a solid foundation in core courses. As one of only a few chemical engineers in my postdoctoral group, I have found that core chemical engineering principles have been essential for a range of academic and industrial research projects. Throughout my undergraduate, Ph.D., and postdoc research, numerical methods and computer science courses have also been highly relevant. Thus, I would support establishing a strong numerical methods course as part of the chemical engineering curriculum at my university.

I would also like to teach courses for electrochemistry. This effort builds off my experience as a teaching assistant for an electrochemistry course during my Ph.D, where I helped develop problem sets, exams, and general course design. I have also had the opportunity to teach electrochemistry to others, including high school students and researchers at a start-up company. Electrochemistry represents a combination of all chemical engineering core principles, including thermodynamics, kinetics, and transport, and flows naturally from the traditional curriculum. Accordingly, as electrochemistry becomes increasingly relevant in both academia and industry, courses that bridge the gap between chemical engineering fundamentals and topics including energy storage, electrochemical separations, and electro-organic synthesis will become critical.

I am excited to be able to teach, and my goal is to build a supportive, diverse, and inclusive environment. To this end, I believe in providing strong mentorship for my students and will draw on my experiences as my Ph.D. advisor’s first batch of graduate students at MIT, where I had the opportunity to guide the development of the lab over its first five years and have had the pleasure of being a senior mentor on multiple occasions. These experiences shaped my view of teaching and mentorship, and I am committed to creating a teaching and mentoring environment where all students feel comfortable and have the opportunity to learn both in and out of the lab.