Energy Research at Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory
Abstract
Energy (production, storage and utilization) constitutes one of the most important and challenging issues in the United States and no single solution will be able to provide the required answer to this gigantic problem. In helping the US Department of Energy to advance technologies, the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory is conducting cutting edge research in a variety of fields including reverse engineered photosynthesis for bio-inspired solar energy conversion, vertically integrated experimental and theoretical combustion chemistry, atomic and molecular-scale control of catalytic reactions for energy technologies and new concepts for energy storage.
In this presentation, the speaker will describe some of the highlights of the work currently underway targeted to provide the scientific basis for the discovery and implementation of new technologies to yield translational solutions in support of the US Department of Energy's mission in two specific areas.
Catalysis plays a significant role in developing greener and sustainable processes for the chemical industry. Heterogeneous nanoparticle catalysts are widely used in industry; their high thermal stability makes them well suited for large-scale processes. In contrast, homogeneous catalysts, despite their exquisite tunability and selectivities, are prone to thermal decomposition limiting the scope of the reactions that they can catalyze. In the second part of the talk, the speaker will highlight three different areas of recent work at Argonne National Laboratory in the interface between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis.
About the speaker
Dr. Emilio Bunel received his MS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Chile in 1980 and his PhD in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1988. He began his professional career at DuPont Central Research as a member of the Catalysis Group working on new catalytic processes to produce nylon intermediates. In 2001, Dr Bunel was hired by Eli Lilly to establish the Catalysis Group within the Discovery Research Organization. In 2003, he was appointed an Associate Director at Amgen, Inc., and subsequently in 2008, Research Fellow at Pfizer, Inc.
In 2008, Dr. Bunel was named director of the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory, where he is responsible for directing a science-based research, development, and early-stage engineering organization that conducts both fundamental and applied research in chemistry and chemical engineering.
Dr. Bunel’s research focuses on organometallic chemistry synthesis with particular emphasis on applications to homogeneous catalysis; in-situ characterization techniques; high throughput techniques applied to catalyst discovery; catalysis applied to energy problems such as hydrocarbon activation and carbon dioxide reduction.
