Welcome to the FACt group at the Center for Renewable Carbon, School of Natural Resources, University of Tennessee, Knoxville!
​
We are a newly established group focused on designing efficient catalysts for the valorization of small molecules derived from renewable and sustainable sources, such as CO2 and CH4. We are a team with the expertise in catalyst synthesis, catalytic reaction kinetics and in situ spectroscopy. We believe that advancing heterogeneous catalysis for CO2 and CH4 valorization requires in-depth understanding of catalytic reaction mechanisms to shift from traditional "coke-and-look" approaches to rational catalyst design. This transition depends on collaboration among scientists from diverse fields and bridge the gap to real-world applications. We therefore welcome collaborations with experts in material synthesis, advanced characterization techniques, and theoretical modeling.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
Cauldron of Knowledge
“A catalyst is a substance which affects the rate of a chemical reaction without being part of its end products.” — Wilhelm Ostwald (1853–1932), Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1909)
​
“The interactions between the catalyst and the reactants should be 'just right'; that is, neither too strong nor too weak.” — Paul Sabatier (1854–1941)
​
“The atoms in the surface of a crystal must tend to arrange themselves so that the total energy will be a munimum.” — Irving Langmuir (1881–1957), Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (1932)
​
“A catalysed chemical reaction is not catalysed over the entire solid surface of the catalyst but only at certain 'active sites' or centres.” — Hugh Stott Taylor (1890–1974)
​
“A catalyst is a complex and resilient self-assembly in space and time…..To treat a catalyst a dead object in time with a fixed structure in space is wrong model of catalytic cycle.” — Michel Boudart (1924–2012)
​
“How can the two-dimentional chemistry taking place in the chemsorbed overlayer be investigated in the atomic scale?” — Gerhard Ertl, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2007)
Catalytic processes are akin to seasonal changes, where everything is in constant flux, from active sites to intermediates. However, unlike the year-long seasonal cycle, catalytic cycles occur much more rapidly.
Join FACt: Be a FACter, Uncovering the Truth in Catalysis.