Welcome

Our Research

Many of the challenges across the fields of environment, health, medicine, and energy can be addressed through advances in catalytic technology. We develop the catalytic technology by understanding chemical reactions that occur on catalyst surfaces at the molecular level. We then apply the new knowledge to the design of materials with novel kinetic functions that enable desirable chemical reactions to occur selectively and efficiently.

We synthesize catalytic materials with purpose-built structures and compositions and apply combined methods of kinetics, spectroscopy, modeling, and isotopic techniques to probe the dynamics of the catalytic surfaces and their kinetic consequences during chemical reactions. These fundamental studies are carried out in parallel with designing and fabricating miniaturized “chemical-plant-on-a-chip” systems used as compact and light-weight chemical plants for small scale fuel and chemical processing. These efforts bridge the knowledge gap between the fundamental studies on surface chemistry and the practical issues currently faced in chemical industry.

Aside from the full range material synthesis, kinetic evaluation, and spectroscopy capabilities in our laboratory, we carry out in-situ X-ray absorption studies and perform theoretical calculations at the various national scientific user centers in Canada and the United States. We also collaborate extensively with experts in the complimentary disciplines of surface sciences and theoretical modeling.