Seminar Series - Rodney Smith

Combining Synthesis and Structure-Property Analysis to Refine Structural Models for Electrocatalysts

Rodney D. L. Smith

Associate Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Waterloo

The structural features believed to be responsible for catalyzing reactions such as the oxygen evolution reaction are transition metal ions residing in under-coordinated sites, such as edge-sites in layered double hydroxides or adjacent to oxygen vacancies in perovskites. The ability to analyze and control such features is impeded by their low concentrations relative to bulk sites, the co-existence of a multitude of viable defects in any given material, the possibility of dynamic structural changes during catalysis, and the fundamental limitations inherent in characterization techniques. The traditional approach to optimization of solid-state catalysts involves compositional tuning of the solids, but this simultaneously alters both electronic and geometric structure of the materials and makes it challenging to determine which structural features are really critical for efficient catalysis. My team develops strategies to link the presence of strained, distorted, or defective coordination environments in solid state materials to specific aspects of chemical reactivity. By systematically identifying structural features that are catalytically relevant, this work guides ongoing efforts to customize catalysts. This talk will discuss how we combine structure-property analysis with strategic variation in synthetic protocols to reveal new structural details for extensively studied catalysts.

Biography

Rodney Smith is an Associate Professor at the University of Waterloo. His PhD from Memorial University of Newfoundland was followed by postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Calgary and the University of British Columbia, and an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellowship at the Freie Universität Berlin. His research interests lie in the fabrication of solid-state materials that mediate the electrochemical synthesis of chemicals in a sustainable way, and understanding how nuanced structural changes impart large changes in catalytic behavior. Rodney develops and explores fabrication techniques, examines structural aspects of defective solid-state materials, and studies reaction kinetics and dynamics to improve the efficiency and selectivity of electrocatalytic reactions.