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Depiction of the experimental setup where palladium nanorods lie atop gold nanobars. In this image, an electron beam is directed at the sample to watch the catalytic interactions between the hydrogen molecules (in green) and the palladium catalyst. The light driving the illumination is shown in red.
CREDIT
Katherine Sytwu
Abstract:
Like a person breaking up a cat fight, the role of catalysts in a chemical reaction is to hurry up the process - and come out of it intact. And, just as not every house in a neighborhood has someone willing to intervene in such a battle, not every part of a catalyst participates in the reaction. But what if one could convince the unengaged parts of a catalyst to get involved? Chemical reactions could occur faster or more efficiently.
Date Time
Stanford engineers find a way to control chemical catalysts with sculpted light
Using state-of-the-art fabrication and imaging, researchers watched the consequences of adding sculpted light to a catalyst during a chemical transformation. This work could inform more efficient – and potentially new – forms of catalysis. By Taylor Kubota
Like a person breaking up a cat fight, the role of catalysts in a chemical reaction is to hurry up the process – and come out of it intact. And, just as not every house in a neighborhood has someone willing to intervene in such a battle, not every part of a catalyst participates in the reaction. But what if one could convince the unengaged parts of a catalyst to get involved? Chemical reactions could occur faster or more efficiently.
Using state-of-the-art fabrication and imaging, researchers watched the consequences of adding sculpted light to a catalyst during a chemical transformation. This work could inform more efficient – and potentially new – forms of catalysis.
Dec 16, 2020
By Mark Golden
Yi Cui, a preeminent researcher of nanotechnologies for better batteries and other sustainability technologies, as well as an educator and entrepreneur, will become the next director of Stanford University’s Precourt Institute for Energy. Yi Cui, Stanford materials science professor and incoming director of the Precourt Institute for Energy. (Credit: Feng Pan)
Cui, professor in Stanford’s Department of Materials Science & Engineering and professor of photon science at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, takes over the helm from co-directors Sally Benson and Arun Majumdar. Cui, one of the world’s most cited scientists, will begin his new appointment on January 1. In 2008 he showed that silicon nanowires can significantly boost the performance of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. This triggered global interest in nanotechnology for energy storage and resulted in his founding of the startup Amprius Inc. Cui and the large group of student
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