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Caltech

Inorganic-Electrochemistry Seminar

Monday, May 18, 2026
3:45pm to 4:45pm
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Noyes 147 (J. Holmes Sturdivant Lecture Hall)
Designing for Disorder: Electrocatalytic Synthesis with Interfacial Control
Anna Wuttig, Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, The University of Chicago,

Chemical synthesis driven by electricity offers a scalable, decentralized, and energy-efficient route to furnish value-added products – from fuels to complex molecules. Maximizing reaction efficiency and durability requires immobilized catalytic active sites on electrodes, resulting in dispersed and non-uniform sites. This heterogeneity challenges iterative optimization of reactivity through traditional catalyst modifications, which rely on uniform, singular active sites. This lecture will focus on our research developing synthetic tools and concepts to predictively control interfacial structures at heterogeneous and reusable electrodes at the molecular level. Surface-sensitive techniques and mechanisms will be highlighted throughout the talk. Applications of our interfacial designs in enabling selective chemical syntheses and durable energy conversion systems will be discussed.

For more information, please contact Aracely Sustaita by phone at 626-395-3654 or by email at [email protected].