With support from the Chemistry Division of the National Science Foundation, Professor Jerome Robinson of Brown University is working on energy storage. This theme is relevant to the efficient use of "intermittent energy" from wind and solar sources. This project focuses on the storage of energy in the form of peroxides, compounds with oxygen-oxygen bonds. The use of oxygen is attractive since it is one of the most abundant elements in the earth's atmosphere. Current industrial routes to peroxides are energy-intensive. The project is also addressing small-scale applications relevant to personalized-energy storage. The research team designs metal catalysts to produce peroxides using electro-chemical means. This project provides hands-on training opportunities in the areas of renewable energy and green chemistry for scientists at the graduate, undergraduate, and high-school levels. Initiatives focusing on broadening representation and increasing retention in historically underrepresented groups in chemistry are being advanced through summer research opportunities and cohort-based mentor and researcher training programs.
Efficient and controlled delivery of electrons and protons are critical to many sustainable energy applications. Despite significant advances and intensive research interest, achieving high selectivity and activity at low overpotentials with earth-abundant catalysts remains a formidable challenge. With funding from the Chemical Catalysis Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Jerome Robinson of Brown University is advancing the fundamental understanding of catalytic metal-coupled electron transfer (MCET) to enable the sustainable and selective reduction of oxygen to peroxide using earth-abundant catalysts. To achieve this goal, this project is focused on developing electrocatalytic MCET processes for the reduction of oxygen to peroxide, identifying and optimizing conditions for turnover of the Lewis-acid activator, and managing potentially competitive pathways such as proton-coupled electron transfer.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
