Project Info

Engineering conductive, biomimetic materials for use in energy applications

Iron-sulfur (FeS) clusters are ubiquitous in biology and often participate in biological electron transfer. FeS clusters form in a variety of sizes and shapes, such as 2Fe-2S and 4Fe-4S clusters as well as larger clusters. In this project, these clusters will be synthesized and incorporated into porous materials, including metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) and covalent organic frameworks (COFs). The resulting FeS-materials will be investigated for their conductive properties and employed for energy applications, such as electrochemical double layer capacitors. These materials would be the first of their kind and have the advantage of using earth-abundant elements. Another potential direction of this project is optimizing the FeS-materials to perform catalytic reactions similar to their biological counterparts, such as CO2 reduction to hydrocarbons, hydrogen evolution, and/or nitrogen fixation.

More Information

1. Ji, Z.; Trickett, C.; Pei, X.; Yaghi, O. M. “Linking Molybdenum-Sulfur Clusters for Electrocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution.” Journal of the American Chemical Society 2018, 140, 13618-13622.
2. Baek, J.; Rungtaweevoranit, B.; Pei, X.; Park, M.; Fakra, S. C.; Liu, Y.-S.; Matheu, R.; Alshmimri, S. A.; Alshehri, S.; Trickett, C. A.; Somorjai, G. A.; Yaghi, O. M. “Bioinspired Metal-Organic Framework Catalysts for Selective Methane Oxidation to Methanol.” Journal of the American Chemical Society 2018, 140 18208-18216.
3. Sheberla, D.; Bachman, J. C.; Elias, J. S.; Sun, C.-J.; Shao-Horn, Y.; Dinca, M. “Conductive MOF Electrodes for Stable Supercapacitors with High Areal Capacitance.” Nature Materials 2017, 16, 220-225.

Grand Engineering Challenge: Not applicable

Student Preparation

Qualifications

Prior knowledge of material characterization techniques is not expected; however, some experience with organic and/or inorganic chemical synthesis is required (such as through classes, labs, or other research experience).

Time Commitment

30-40 hours/month

Skills/Techniques Gained

Organic synthesis, inorganic synthesis, materials characterization techniques, handling of anaerobic materials

Mentoring Plan

The student will work closely with the PI and graduate students in the group for assistance with synthesis of materials, instrument training, experimental design, and project direction. Initially, the student will be paired with a graduate student to learn the necessary techniques. As the student gains experience, he or she may operate with greater independence. This lab/project is new as of summer 2019; therefore, the student can expect to interact frequently with the PI and receive training directly from the PI (in addition to training/mentoring from graduate students).