The_Catalyst_Review_January_2024 - 20

Movers & Shakers
Dr. Madelyn Ball
Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering,
West Virginia University
Professor Ball received her BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of New Hampshire
and her PhD in the same discipline from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where her research
focused on the synthesis and characterization of well-controlled bimetallic catalysts. Before joining
WVU, she was an Eckert Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Georgia Tech, where she investigated
the use of synthetic materials chemistry to develop materials for both catalytic and adsorption
applications. Her current research is focused on the use of synthetic and spectroscopic approaches
to design catalytic materials and elucidate fundamental structure-performance relationships for
energy and environmental applications. She has received the ACS Petroleum Research Fund
Doctoral New Investigator award in support of the ongoing work in her group. She can be reached
at madelyn.ball@mail.wvu.edu.
The Catalyst Review asked Professor Ball to discuss her ongoing efforts in the development of
membrane reactors.
One of the current areas of focus in my research group is the development and study of novel catalytic membranes. Membrane reactors
are an interesting and promising next-generation reaction system. These systems have particular promise for equilibrium-limited
reactions as well as for small-scale and process intensification efforts, as reaction and separation steps are combined in one unit. Most
research on membrane reactor systems involves a conventional, often ceramic, membrane coated with the catalyst material. These
materials often have challenges with both uniformity of catalyst and physical stability, as different thermal expansion coefficients of the
membrane and catalyst components can lead to cracking at high temperatures. Many of these challenges could be alleviated by the
development of a dual-functional membrane material that contains both separation and catalytic functionality.
My research group focuses on synthetic approaches to control catalyst active site structures and the application of in situ and operando
spectroscopy to understand how these structures evolve over the catalyst's lifetime. This strategy has been applied to the study of
a variety of reaction systems, including selective hydrogenation, CO2
hydrogenation, and methane coupling. Our current work is
expanding this approach to developing and investigating dual-functional catalytic membrane materials.
In collaboration with membrane expert Dr. Oishi Sanyal, ongoing work in my research group is focused on the preparation, tunability,
and structural evolution of dual-functional membrane materials. We take inspiration from metal-embedded membranes, which have
been previously used for sorption-enhanced separations and we are investigating the incorporation of metal into tunable carbon
molecular sieve membranes. These membranes are synthesized by pyrolysis of a polymer precursor; the resulting material properties
can be controlled by modification of the pyrolysis conditions as well as the method of metal incorporation. We are particularly interested
in understanding how metal incorporation by metal-containing polymers versus conventional metal impregnation impacts the resulting
structure and stability of the metal. Of note, metal incorporated into the polymer precursor structure will likely remain highly dispersed
and may result in a material similar to single-atom catalysts. As a result, this strategy offers exciting avenues for the development of
highly active catalysts.
The detailed characterization of the material properties is key to understanding the relationships between synthetic parameters,
structure, and ultimate performance as both a catalyst and membrane. We apply a variety of ex situ, in situ, and operando
characterization techniques to these materials to understand these relationships. While techniques such as chemisorption, infrared or
Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption spectroscopy are commonly used in the field of catalysis, we highlight that these techniques
have been underutilized in the development of metal-containing membranes. These characterization tools enable quantification of
the metal size, oxidation state, and coordination environment, among other properties, all key to the resulting catalytic performance.
This approach not only benefits the development of dual-functional catalytic membranes but can also be applied to metal-containing
membranes used solely in separation applications. Together, this work studying and developing dual-functional catalytic membrane
materials opens a new avenue for process-intensified reactors for a wide variety of chemical transformations.
Coming Soon - Topics Include:
* Bio-lubricants
* Sulfide Catalysis at the Crossroads
* Polyolefin Supports * Electricity-based Heating in Catalysis
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The Catalyst Review
January 2024

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