Unveiling reaction mechanisms in heterogeneous catalysis

Abstract

Heterogeneous catalysis plays a pivotal role in modern chemical engineering, chemistry, and the energy industry. However, unraveling catalytic reaction mechanisms remains a major challenge due to two key factors: (1) Catalyst surface structures dynamically evolve under reaction conditions, making it difficult to identify actual active sites. (2) Reaction intermediates are often highly reactive and short-lived, leading to uncertainty and debate regarding reaction pathways. This limited mechanistic understanding results in an “cook and look” catalyst design in the conventional chemical industry, slowing the development of more efficient and novel catalytic systems. In situ (or operando) spectroscopy, which captures real-time spectroscopic data on catalyst structures and reactive intermediates during reaction processes, offers a powerful tool for overcoming these challenges. This presentation will showcase how spectroscopy techniques are leveraged to gain mechanistic insights into catalytic CO oxidation, propane dehydrogenation, and C1 coupling reactions.

Biography

Zihao Zhang is an Assistant Professor at the Center for Renewable Carbon, School of Natural Resources, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT), starting in December 2024. His current research focuses on the catalytic conversion of underutilized industrial resources, such as biomass, biogas and methane, into value-added chemicals, fuels, and materials through rational catalyst design. Before joining UT, Zhang was a postdoctoral fellow at ETH Zurich, Paul Scherrer Institute, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (2019–2024). He earned his PhD in chemical engineering from Zhejiang University in 2019, following a visiting period at UT (2018–2019). His research has been widely recognized in the fields of chemical engineering, chemistry, and catalysis, as reflected by publications in leading scientific journals and over 3,600 citations.