O'Brien Research Group

We are an interdisciplinary research group that studies the science of catalytic interfaces and their applications for chemical transformations and chemical separations . To support discovery of new catalytic materials, we develop and use advanced in-situ and operando spectroscopic techniques that provide molecular-level insights into the structure, performance, and dynamics of catalytic interfaces under realistic operating conditions. 

NEWS

 

2024, May: Garam's paper on plasma-stimulated CH4-N2 coupling is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces!

2024, May:  A US perspective on closing the carbon cycle to defossilize difficult-to-electrify segments of our economy is published in Nature Reviews Chemistry!

2024, April: Anna passes her pre-candidacy research proposal exam!

2024, February: Cynthia participates in the 2024 Shaheen Three Minute Thesis (3MT) finals!

2024,  January: Garam's paper is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces!

2023, November: Youngsuk Ko joins the group!

2023, November: Hui and Renxi's paper is published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces!

2023, October: Hui and Sarah's  paper is published in Journal of Membrane Science.

2023,  April: Prof. O'Brien receives funding from the NSF Chemical Catalysis program: "Accessing and Stabilizing Metastable States by Coupling Plasma and Surface Chemistry!

2023, April: Alejandro passes his pre-candidacy proposal exam!

2023,  April: Dr. Hui Xu successfully defends her Ph.D. thesis! Our third Ph.D. graduate in the group!

2023, March: Dr. Sarah Pate successfully defends her Ph.D. thesis! Our second Ph.D. graduate in the group!

2023,  February: Cynthia passes her Ph.D. candidacy exam!

2023, February: Hui's paper is published in Chemical Engineering Journal!

2023,  January: Renxi and Hui's paper is published in the Journal of Physical Chemistry C as part of the virtual special issue "Early-Career and Emerging Researchers in Physical Chemistry Volume 2!" 

2022, November: Anna O'Keefe joins the group!

2022, September: Our Perspective article on converting CO2 to carbohydrates is published in ACS Energy Letters!

2022, June: Prof. O'Brien receives an NSF CAREER award! 

2022, June: Garam and Justin's Editorial is published in Journal of Physical Chemistry C!

2022, April: Justin Easa successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis, our first Ph.D. graduate!

2022, March: Hui Xu's paper is published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces!

2022, February: Sarah Pate's paper is published in Journal of Materials Chemistry A!

2022, February: Justin Easa's paper is published in Chemical Engineering Journal!

2021, December: Alejandro joins the group!

2021, November: Garam Lee's paper is published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces!

2021, November: Garam Lee's paper is published in Journal of Membrane Science!

2021, August: New paper in Energy Material Advances!

2021, August: Renxi Jin's paper is published in ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces!

2021, August: Bo Wei Cynthia Chen passes the comprehensive exam!

2021, May: Sarah Pate passes the candidacy exam!

2021, February: A Perspective is published in Journal of Membrane Science!

2020, November: Bo Wei Cynthia Chen joins the group as a Ph.D. student!

2020,  June: Hui Xu joins the group as a Ph.D. student!

2020, April: Austin Booth is awarded the Vincent P. Slatt Fellowship for Undergraduate Research in Energy Systems and Processes!

2020, February: Renxi Jin's paper is accepted for publication in Catalysis Science and Technology!

2019, December: Justin Easa's paper is accepted for publication in the Journal of Membrane Science!

2019, October: Garam Lee joins the group as a Ph.D. student!

2019,  August: Sarah Pate and Aubrey Jeffries both passed their comprehensive exams!

2018, October: Sarah Pate and Aubrey Jeffries joined the group as Ph.D. students!

2018, October: Renxi Jin joined the group as a postdoc!

2018,  August: Justin Easa passed his comprehensive exam!

2018, July: Jingrui Wei joins the group for the summer as an undergraduate research in the iSURE program!

2017, November: Justin Easa joined the group as Ph.D. student!