Ling Zhou and Robert J. Madix
The overall objective of our research is to understand the effects of spatial organization on the reactivity of adsorbed layers on metal surfaces. This is one of the frontier areas in the emerging field of nanotechnology, as it related directly to...

Xiaoying Liu
Olefins are one of the primary starting materials in industrial synthesis and polymer and material sciences, and the fact that they exhibit diverse reactivities toward a set of transformations makes them a class of fundamental reactants. we are interested in the reaction mechanisms of the coupling between olefins and other small building blocks such as O- and N- containing units to form carbon-heteroatom bonds. In our studies, small units, for example O, NH, NR and CR2, are first prepared on the surfaces of noble metals including gold and silver. They are then coupled with...

Thomas A. Baker and collaboration with co-advisor Efthimios Kaxiras

Surfaces are not perfect static systems. In the past, both experimental and theoretical groups have considered a surface to be static: molecules absorb on top of an unreconstructed surface. However, this picture will not suffice anymore with more and more examples of systems where surface atoms are released from the bulk and incorporated into the absorbed molecules. For example, the absorption of atomic oxygen on Au(111) produces a rough surface with oxygen incorporated in gold atoms that form islands on the surface...

Ryan Quiller
Reactions of NOx, SO2, O3, and oxygenated hydrocarbons on oxide surfaces in high relative humidity are important in areas such as atmospheric chemistry and environmental catalysis. We are investigating the reactivity of metal oxides such as rutile TiO2 in the presence of water. We hope to gain further insight into the effect of OH and H2O on gas-oxide surface reaction rates, mechanisms, and products. Also, we are studying how these molecular interactions are affected by materials properties of the metal oxide such as terrace widths and defects. Our research involves...

Lauren Benz, Ryan Quiller, and Meaghan Colling
The study of the interaction of metal oxides with atmospheric constituents is an area which has both practical and fundamental significance. Our current work involves the investigation of the effect of water on reactions of volatile organic compounds and other environmentally relevant species such as oxygen and ozone over a model oxide substrate, namely, titanium dioxide. Titanium dioxide is not only a natural oxide present in the earth's crust, but it is a major ingredient in paints and surface coatings, making it a suitable model for this...

Xingyi Deng and Thomas A. Baker

Gold-based heterogeneous catalysts have been shown to have a surprising potential as selective catalysts for redox processes. Such catalysts have been investigated for catalytic alcohol oxidation, the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide, low temperature...