Catalysing Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing by Professor Adam F. Lee

NTU MSE Seminar Hosted by Assistant Professor Wu Dongshuang

Abstract

The anthropogenic origin of climate change from combustible carbon, and desire to establish a global circular economy is driving the quest for new sustainable manufacturing processes.1 Catalysis has a rich history of facilitating energy efficient, selective molecular transformations, and will play a pivotal role in overcoming the scientific and engineering barriers to sustainable and economically viable energy vectors and chemicals. Advances in the rational design of nanoporous solid acid and base catalysts enable the fabrication of hierarchical porous architectures2 in which different active sites are spatially compartmentalised. Synergies between nanoporous solid acids and metal nanoparticles also facilitate active and selective upgrading of pyrolysis bio-oils to hydrocarbon fuels, and precious metal thrifting.3-4 Active site compartmentalization and flow chemistry facilitates chemical cascades to produce valuable chemical intermediates.5 Green hydrogen, sourced from water split by solar energy is the frontrunning clean energy vector for applications where direct electrification is currently impractical, and a critical building block for sustainable chemical synthesis. Direct harnessing of solar energy for photocatalytic water splitting6 and acetic acid reforming7 using Earth abundant elements will also be discussed.

References

1. S. Chu, A. Majumdar, Nature 2012, 488, 294.2.
2. M. A. Isaacs, C. M. A. Parlett, N. Robinson, L. J. Durndell, J. C. Manayil, S. K. Beaumont, S. Jiang, N. S. Hondow, A. C. Lamb, D. Jampaiah, M. L. Johns, K. Wilson and A. F. Lee, Nat. Catal., 2020, 3, 921.
3. A. Shivhare, J. A. Hunns, L. J. Durndell, C. M. A. Parlett, M. A. Isaacs, A. F. Lee, K. Wilson, ChemSusChem 2020, 13, 4945.
4. J.A. Hunns, L.J. Durndell, X. Zhang, M. Konarova, A.F. Lee, K. Wilson, ACS Catalysis 2024, 14 7052.
5. A. Merenda,S. A. Orr, Y. Liu, B. Hernández Garcia, A. Osatiashtiani, G. Morales, M. Paniagua, J. A. Melero, A. F. Lee, K. Wilson, ChemCatChem 2023, 15, e202201224.
6. H. Luo, Z. Liu, H. Lv, J. J. M. Vequizo, M. Zheng, F. Han, Z. Ye, A. Yamakata, W. Shangguan, A. F. Lee, X. Wu, K. Domen, J. Lu, Z. Jiang, Nat. Comm. 2025, 16, 8786.
7. T. Liu, J. Huang, Q. Luo, S. Saravanamurugan, A. F. Lee, H. Li, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2026, 65, e24749.

Biography


Dr Adam F. Lee, Professor
Institute for Materials Research and Engineering, A*STAR
(Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics)

Adam is an International Distinguished Scholar of the Chinese Academy of Sciences at Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP, China) through the Presidents International Fellowship Initiative and Visiting Professor of Sustainable Chemistry at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR, Singapore). He previously held Chair appointments at Cardiff, Warwick, Monash, Aston, RMIT and Griffith Universities. Adam’s research addresses the rational design of nanoengineered materials for energy and environmental applications. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Royal Australian Chemical Institute, Associate Fellow of the IChemE, Editor-in-Chief of Materials Today Chemistry, Associate Editor of Energy & Environmental Materials and recipient of the 2011 McBain Medal, 2012 Beilby Medal and Prize, and 2023 RACI Welcome Award, and has co-authored >310 publications (h=index 91, 29,312 cites).