Research Interests

Professor Kitchin's research group focuses on energy and environmental applications of electrochemistry and in computational methods for studying chemical reactions at catalyst surfaces.

CO₂ capture and utilization

One way to minimize the impact of CO₂ emissions from power generation by fossil fuel combustion is to capture the CO₂ for eventual sequestration.  We are investigating electrochemical membranes and other electrochemical processes as methods for capturing the CO₂ from the exhaust gas in a power plant. These processes could be superior to existing methods due to their simplicity and use of less toxic materials. We are also investigating electrochemical strategies for capturing CO₂ directly from the air and conversion of that CO₂ to synthetic fuels such as methanol using renewable energy as part of a comprehensive carbon management plan.

Fuel cells

We are developing new electrocatalysts for fuel cells that utilize alcohol fuels that can be produced renewably such as methanol and glycerin (a byproduct of biodiesel). We are developing synthesis methods to create high surface area core-shell electrocatalysts where the core is a relatively cheap metal and the shell is an active alloy electrocatalyst. We are also beginning a new project in solid oxide fuel cells to use vibrational spectroscopy to characterize molecular intermediates at the cathode where oxygen is reduced.

Interactions between adsorbates on catalyst surfaces

Understanding how molecules interact with each other on catalyst surfaces and being able to accurately predict their behavior as a function of concentration on the surface is a major challenge. We are developing new methods that use quantum mechanical calculations to parameterize a simpler, faster method that can then be used to predict phase behavior quantitatively in statistical mechanical simulations. We are focusing on oxygen interactions on transition metal and alloy surfaces and are identifying correlations in the phase behavior of oxygen on different metal surfaces. These studies may help us understand the preliminary stages of metal oxidation. We are also interested in the phase behavior of sulfur on transition metal surfaces and how sulfur affects the reaction pathways in synfuel synthesis.

Representative Publications

"Trends in the electronic structure and chemical properties of metal-terminated close-packed early transition metal carbide surfaces", Kitchin, J. R.; Nørskov, J. K.; Barteau, M. A.; and J. G. Chen, Catalysis Today 105(1) 66-73 (2005).

"Trends in the exchange current for hydrogen evolution", Nørskov, J. K. ; Bligaard, T.; Logadottir, A.; Kitchin, J. R.; Chen, J. G.; Pandelov, S.; and Stimming U., J. Electrochem. Soc. 152(3) (2005).

"The origin of the overpotential for oxygen reduction at a fuel cell cathode", Nørskov, J. K.; Rossmeisl, J.; Logadottir, A.; Lindqvist, L.; Kitchin, J. R.; Bligaard, T., J. Phys. Chem. B 108, 17886-17892 (2004).

"The role of strain and ligand effects in the modification of the electronic and chemical properties of bimetallic surfaces", Kitchin, J.R.; Nørskov, J.K., Barteau, M.A.; Chen, J.G., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93(15), 156801 (2004).

"The Role of Adsorbate-adsorbate Interactions in the Rate Controlling Step and the Most Abundant Reaction Intermediate of NH3 Decomposition on Ru", Mhadeshwar, A.B.; Kitchin, J.R.; Barteau, M.A.; Vlachos, D.G., Catal. Lett. 96(1-2), 13-22 (2004).

"Modification of the Surface Electronic and Chemical Properties of Pt(111) by Subsurface 3d Transition Metals", Kitchin, J.R.; Nørskov, J.K., Barteau, M.A.; Chen, J.G., J. Chem. Phys. 120, 10240-10246 (2004).

"Elucidation of the active surface and origin of the weak metal-hydrogen bond on Ni/Pt(111) bimetallic surfaces: A surface science and density functional theory study", Kitchin, J.R.; Khan, N.A.; Barteau, M.A.; Chen, J.G.; Yakshinskiy, B.; Madey, T.E., Surface Science 544(2-3), 295-308 (2003).