NSF-BSF: Deciphering Molecule-Carbon Nanotube Interactions for Environmental Remediation Reactions

NSF-BSF: Deciphering Molecule-Carbon Nanotube Interactions for Environmental Remediation Reactions

Electrochemical reactions are emerging means to the efficient removal of environmentally concerning chemical species under mild reaction conditions, without the need for harsh chemical reactants, and powered by renewable energy sources. Nanostructured catalyst materials, especially those featuring multiple components with strong interactions, have greatly advanced the performance of many electrochemical reactions.

However, the form and nature of these interactions and how they regulate the catalytic properties of the material remain elusive and is hampering both mechanistic understanding and performance optimization. In this project, in collaboration with researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Dr. Hailiang Wang of Yale University and Dr.

Robert Baker of the Ohio State University will combine materials synthesis, reaction studies, and spectroscopy techniques to perform detailed analysis of the nanoscale and molecular interactions between cobalt phthalocyanine, a metal coordination compound, and carbon nanotubes. Knowledge obtained from this research will be applied to reactions in carbon dioxide utilization and water purification.

This project will also provide educational opportunities in environmental chemistry and engineering via outreach activities, classroom teaching, and research training to a diverse body of students in STEM fields.

Dr. Hailiang Wang of Yale University and Dr. Robert Baker of the Ohio State University, in collaboration with researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, will analyze the nanoscale and molecular interactions between cobalt phthalocyanine and carbon nanotube and the ways by which these interactions can be utilized to optimize the electrocatalytic performance of the hybrid material for environmental applications.

It is hypothesized those static interactions, i.e. electron relocation, controls the material’s thermodynamic behavior in the catalytic reaction, whereas dynamic interactions, i.e. the electron transfer rate, influences the catalytic kinetics. The team will leverage expertise in materials synthesis and reaction studies, high-spatial-resolution spectroscopy, and time-resolved spectroscopy to test the hypothesis.

Static and dynamic interactions as functions of the material’s structural parameters, including the loading, dispersion, geometry, and linkage of cobalt phthalocyanine on carbon nanotube surface, will be analyzed. Fundamental structure-reactivity correlations will be established. Obtained mechanistic understanding will be utilized to further improve the environmental remediation reactions of carbon dioxide conversion to methanol and nitrate reduction by tailoring the nanoscale and molecular interactions.

This project will also provide educational opportunities in environmental chemistry and engineering via outreach activities, classroom teaching, and research training to a diverse body of students in STEM fields.

This research is jointly funded by NSF and The US-Israel Binational Science foundation through the special submission opportunity NSF 20-094.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.