(2bd) Developing Catalysts for Solar-Driven Chemicals, Fuel Production, and Waste Water Treatment

I am interested in developing active, selective, and stable catalysts for solar-driven chemicals, fuel production, and waste water treatment. These materials are necessary to harness the abundant solar energy for sustainable energy applications.

Doctoral Research: My research in Chemical Engineering at Stanford University focused on developing catalytic materials for (1) carbon dioxide conversion (CO₂) into fuels and chemicals and (2) automotive exhaust emission control. By synthesizing colloidal nanoparticles with tunable properties (size, shape, and composition) and studying their dynamic nature using X-ray absorption spectroscopy, I identified previously unseen changes in the catalysts’ structure that occur during chemical reactions. This knowledge enabled me to design active, selective, and stable materials for thermocatalytic CO₂ conversion. Additionally, by designing a microenvironment around noble metal nanoparticles, I devised an anti-sintering approach to prevent the nanoparticles from deactivating under harsh operating conditions (e.g., high temperature, oxidizing environment, steam). This strategy can be broadly applied to other applications where catalysts operate under highly oxidizing conditions.

Postdoctoral Research: As a Kavli Nanoscience Institute Fellow at the California Institute of Technology, I develop solar-driven chemical application for (1) photoelectrochemical and (2) photothermal CO₂ conversion. In the photoelectrochemical approach, I study how localized surface plasmon resonance properties of gold (Au) and inter-band absorption in p-type gallium nitride (p-GaN) semiconductor affect activity of Au/p-GaN heterostructures for CO₂ reduction. Additionally, by coating these materials with molecular additives, I steer the catalyst’s selectivity toward desired carbon-based products and suppress the unwanted hydrogen evolution reaction. In the photothermal approach, I combine selective solar absorbers with Ru-based catalysts to perform solar-thermal CO₂ hydrogenation into higher value products.

Research Vision: The vision of the Aitbekova Lab is to design catalysts for photothermal and photoelectrochemical applications to convert pollutants in air and waste water into fuels and chemicals. The research approach includes (1) synthesis of nanoparticles with tunable properties, (2) plasmonic and metal/semiconductor heterostructure engineering, (3) characterization by ex-situ and in-situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy and microscopy, and (4) reactor engineering. This approach will establish a platform to elucidate structure-property relationships in catalysts to engineer materials for solar-driven applications.

Teaching Interests

Core Curriculum: I am qualified to teach core chemical engineering courses. Specifically, I am interested in teaching reactor engineering and kinetics. Throughout my career I have served as a teaching assistant for undergraduate chemical engineering courses. My contributions to teaching and communicating science to diverse audiences have been recognized with the Distinguished Student Lecturer Award and the Mentor in Teaching Fellowship at Stanford University.

Mentorship: My mentorship and outreach efforts are driven by my desire to serve as a bridge to graduate school for those who, like me, did not have access to such knowledge. I have mentored nine students and for the last eight years I have participated in, designed, and implemented several initiatives to expose undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds to graduate school. My greatest achievement was to offer an accountability program to help undergraduate students apply to graduate school. This year, I am collaborating with the student faculty office at Caltech to assist 200 students with graduate school applications.