Come meet our newest faculty members
The Faculty of Science is proud to announce a new, complimentary online lecture series that highlights the incredible new talent in our midst. Over the coming months, we will be hosting a series of talks from a wide range of topics that introduce you to our latest lecturers, researchers and future stars of the Faculty.
These talks are open to alumni, friends, faculty, staff and the greater UW community.
Rodney Smith, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry
Harnessing Chemical Imperfections to Drive Sustainable Energy Technologies
Sustainable
fuel
technologies
based
on
cyclic
chemical
reactions
are
being
pursued
vigorously.
The
production
of
hydrogen
from
water,
methanol
from
carbon
dioxide,
or
ammonia
from
nitrogen
all
produce
high
energy
chemicals,
or
fuels,
from
benign
and
abundant
resources;
the
energy
stored
in
these
fuels
can
be
harvested
readily
by
simply
reversing
the
chemical
reactions.
The
theoretical
energy
efficiency
of
these
reactions
can
be
maximized
by
performing
them
electrochemically,
where
energy
stored
in
chemical
bonds
can
be
directly
converted
into
electrical
energy.
The
energy
efficiency
attained,
however,
is
dependent
on
chemical
interactions
between
the
relevant
chemical
and
an
electrode
surface.
Solid-state materials are used as electrodes to facilitate, or catalyze, desired chemical transformations in such sustainable fuel cycles. These solids are created by arranging atoms in a systematic manner in space, where precise atomic placements establish the physical and chemical properties. Introducing imperfections by adding, removing, moving, or substituting one or more atoms in the structure induces structural distortions in the solid that influence its properties. These structural imperfections are critical in determining catalytic performance. The ability to control such imperfections is a critical step in improving the efficiency of catalytic cycles, but structural imperfections are excellent examples of the proverbial “needle in a haystack.”
Dr. Smith is a chemist who designs, synthesizes, and analyzes solid state materials for use in catalysis. He will discuss the strategies that his research group employs to identify, understand, and ultimately control catalysis by understanding structural imperfections in solid-state electrode materials. These strategies are based upon the development of strategic synthesis protocols, systematic analysis of families of materials, and the coupling of state-of-the-art techniques for electrochemical analysis and structural determination.
A link to this zoom webinar will be sent upon registration. Per webinar format, only UW hosts and lecturer will on video and audio.