Multi-scale Approaches to Understanding Active Sites in Ion Exchange and Catalytic Reaction

Speaker

Gina Ahyun Noh

Assistant Professor, Penn State University
 

Abstract

Structure-function relationships for active sites play a key role in the development of atom-efficient catalysts, to reduce the need for energy-intensive separations, and, in cases where separations remain essential, ion-exchange materials as an alternative to conventional technologies. The Noh research group at Penn State uses multi-scale approaches, spanning molecular-level detail to macroscopic performance, and combining experiment and theory (density functional theory, DFT), toward sustainable technologies. In this seminar, I will present two vignettes: (1) ion-exchange thermodynamics of Li+ and alkali and alkaline earth cations using microporous titanosilicates (ETS-10), toward rational design of binding sites for critical elements separations; and (2) clarifying the role of metal-oxide interfacial sites that enable O-transport and H-spillover in the reactivity, selectivity, and stability of Ni-CeO2 catalysts for dry reforming of methane (CH4 + CO2 reactions).

Bio

Gina A. Noh is the Griffin Early Career Professor of Chemical Engineering at Pennsylvania State University, where she has been an assistant professor since Jan. 2022. She received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2012 and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, in 2017. She was a postdoctoral research fellow at ETH Zürich in inorganic chemistry from 2018-2021. Her research group focuses on developing structure-function relationships for atom-efficient chemical conversions of emerging and renewable feedstocks and separations of critical elements. Professor Noh has been named a Young Talent by the ICC, a Pioneer of Catalysis and Reaction Engineering by the AIChE CRE division, and a Pioneer of Reaction Engineering by the North American Symposium for Chemical Reaction Engineering. Her research group is supported by the ACS Petroleum Research Fund, the National Science Foundation, and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. She serves as a director for the AIChE CRE division and on the organizing committee for NECZA (the Northeast Corridor Zeolite Association). She is a member of the early career advisory board for Applied Catalysis A: General. Gina’s other interests include pottery, trail running, and reading.