Date/Time
Date(s) - 12/09/2024
1:30 pm - 2:20 pm

Title: Understanding Ammonia Oxidation on Transition Metals

Date: Thursday September 12, 2024

Time: 1:30-2:20pm

Room: ABB 165

Host: Dr. Rodrigo Vargas Hernandez

Abstract: The electrocatalytic ammonia oxidation reaction is an emerging process with potential applications in direct ammonia fuel cells, hydrogen storage, and sustainable fertilizer production. Computational simulations provide valuable insight into the atomic-scale behaviour of these reactions and can tell us which elementary steps we should focus on to improve catalyst performance. In this talk, I will discuss some of our recent efforts to improve nitrogen gas formation in the ammonia oxidation reaction on pure and bimetallic transition metal surfaces.

Biography: Dr. Leanne Chen is a computational chemist whose research program focuses on using renewably-generated electricity to drive chemical processes for energy storage and conversion. She obtained her BScH from Queen’s University in 2012, PhD from Stanford University in 2017, and took on a two-year postdoctoral appointment at Caltech before starting her independent career at the University of Guelph in 2020. She has received funding from the New Frontiers for Research Fund and was awarded a University Research Excellence Award in 2022. Dr. Chen is dedicated to cultivating a flourishing work environment for her students and enjoys finding creative solutions to scientific problems.