The Renewable Energy Conversion and Storage (RECS) research lab within the Powerhouse Energy Campus at Colorado State University seeks self-motivated and independent students to join their efforts to work on a project, “Electrochemical Systems for Fuel and Fertilizer Production”. The project particularly aims to develop new materials and processes for efficiently converting nitrogen to ammonia. Catalyst material synthesis and characterizations, designing electrochemical reactors, quantifying products, and analyzing the experimental data are the primary duties of this project. State-of-the-art facilities within the powerhouse energy campus at Colorado State University, Center for Imaging and Surface Science, Materials and Molecular Analysis, and Analytical Resources Core, are all available on campus to fully understand the reaction mechanism, leading to the design of more efficient catalysts.
The students will gain the following knowledge and expertise after the successful completion of the project:
• Synthesis of metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles and their hybrids
• Electrochemistry and Photochemistry
• Surface Science and Catalytic processes
• Spectroscopy and Microscopy Techniques for characterization of the catalyst and the catalyst environment.
Contact: Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Prof. Reza Nazemi (reza.nazemi@colostate.edu) to learn more about and apply for this position.
Additional funding will be provided if needed through the PI’s sponsored projects to cover the cost of materials and supplies or to support additional fellows through this program.
References
1) Nazemi, M. and El-Sayed, M.A., 2021. Managing the Nitrogen Cycle via Plasmonic (Photo) Electrocatalysis: Toward Circular Economy. Accounts of Chemical Research, 54(23), pp.4294-4304.
2) Nazemi, M., Ou, P., Alabbady, A., Soule, L., Liu, A., Song, J., Sulchek, T.A., Liu, M. and El-Sayed, M.A., 2020. Electrosynthesis of ammonia using porous bimetallic Pd–Ag nanocatalysts in liquid-and gas-phase systems. ACS Catalysis, 10(17), pp.10197-10206.
3) Nazemi, M., Panikkanvalappil, S.R., Liao, C.K., Mahmoud, M.A. and El-Sayed, M.A., 2021. Role of Femtosecond Pulsed Laser-Induced Atomic Redistribution in Bimetallic Au–Pd Nanorods on Optoelectronic and Catalytic Properties. ACS nano, 15(6), pp.10241-10252.