(7fn) Designing Electrochemical Surfaces and Interfaces for Catalysis, Separation Membranes, and Sensors

Designing Electrochemical Surfaces and
Interfaces for Catalysis, Separation Membranes, and Sensors

Jesse D. Benck

Postdoctoral
Research Associate, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, benck@mit.edu

Research Interests:

My
research interests focus on electrochemical technologies including electrocatalysts,
separation membranes, and sensors. In particular, I am interested in studying the
fundamental properties of surfaces and interfaces that control adsorption,
reaction, and permeation processes relevant to these technologies. I aim to
develop an experimental research program with the capabilities to fabricate
materials with atomically-precise surfaces and interfaces, characterize these
materials using in situ microscopy
and spectroscopy, and test their electrochemical performance. Through these
efforts, I hope to reveal physical insights that can be used to design new
materials and devices that can address global challenges in energy, water, and
health.

My
research program will focus on the following areas:

1.    
Electrocatalysis for efficient energy conversion.

Understanding how electrocatalyst composition, chemical state, and surface structure
determine catalytic activity will enable the design of improved catalysts for
electrochemical energy conversion reactions such as water oxidation and carbon
dioxide reduction.

2.    
Nanoporous membranes for selective and efficient electrochemical
separations.

Studying the relationship between the size, shape, and functionalization of nanoscale
pores in two-dimensional materials with the flux of ionic or molecular species through
these pores will enable the design of high-performance membranes for water
purification, desalination, and electrochemical energy conversion devices.

3.    
Selective adsorption at electrochemical interfaces.

Understanding how three-dimensionally structured inorganic materials and macromolecule-functionalized
interfaces can form adsorption sites tailored to bind specific molecules will
enable the design of sensors and electrocatalysts with precise molecular
selectivity.

My
previous research on electrochemical devices and gas separation membranes has
prepared me to lead this proposed research program.

My PhD
research with Professor Thomas F. Jaramillo in the Stanford University Department
of Chemical Engineering focused on electrocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry
for solar hydrogen production. I developed nonprecious metal sulfide and
phosphide electrocatalysts for the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction.
Using in situ microscopy and
spectroscopy to study the catalyst structure and composition enabled me to
identify the properties that controlled activity. I also designed and
fabricated silicon and III-V semiconductor photoelectrodes with integrated
catalyst and surface protecting layers for H₂ production via photoelectrochemical
water splitting, focusing on improving device stability. I created a photovoltaic-electrolyzer
system with world record solar-to-hydrogen efficiency. These experimental
studies were all guided by technoeconomic analysis and numerical simulations of
solar hydrogen production systems.

My
postdoctoral research with Professor Michael S. Strano in the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Department of Chemical Engineering focused on nanoporous
graphene membranes for gas mixture separations. Atomically thin graphene
membranes have the potential to separate gas mixtures with extremely high flux
and selectivity, leading to reduced energy consumption. I developed a procedure
for fabricating suspended graphene membranes and measuring gas permeation and
mixture separation selectivity across these membranes using on-line mass
spectrometry. Through characterization and modeling of the nanopores, we took
initial steps towards understanding the relationship between atomic-scale pore
structure and gas permeance, which forms the foundation for the design of
membranes with nanopores tuned for excellent separation performance.

At
the poster session, I will provide a more complete account of my research
experience and plans for my future research program.

Teaching Interests:

Throughout
my education, I have been deeply devoted to developing my skills as a teacher
and mentor. During graduate school, I was a teaching assistant for two years,
and I received a Stanford Department of Chemical Engineering Outstanding
Teaching Assistant award both years. I later served as the Stanford Chemical
Engineering Department's head mentor teaching assistant to help younger
graduate students develop their teaching skills. I founded and led an
independent study course called Stanford ChemEng 432, “Introduction to Electrochemistry.”
In my final year at Stanford, I became a graduate teaching fellow and the primary
instructor for an undergraduate elective course titled Stanford ChemEng 25E,
“Energy: Chemical Transformations in Production, Storage and Use,” and as a
postdoctoral researcher, I gave a guest lecture in the MIT graduate-level
course 10.585, “Engineering Nanotechnology.” In addition, I have substantial
experience mentoring many undergraduate and young graduate students in the lab.

Continuing
to improve my skills as a teacher and mentor will be an important goal
throughout my career as a faculty member. I am interested in teaching Chemical
Engineering core courses including kinetics, thermodynamics, and separations,
as well as developing elective courses related to my research interests, such
as an “Electrochemical Energy Conversion” class. I also look forward to the
many teaching opportunities that arise in a laboratory setting. As a research
advisor I will focus on helping undergraduate and graduate students to develop
their skills as independent scientists.

Selected Publications:

Full
publication list on Google Scholar profile: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=bM3D8a8AAAAJ&hl=en

1.    
J.D. Benck, Z. Chen, L.Y.
Kuritzky, A.J. Forman, and T.F. Jaramillo. "Amorphous Molybdenum Sulfide
Catalysts for Electrochemical Hydrogen Production: Insights into the Origin of
their Catalytic Activity." ACS
Catalysis, 2012. 2 (9):
1916-1923. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cs300451q

2.    
B.A.
Pinaud, J.D. Benck, L.C. Seitz, A.J.
Forman, Z.B. Chen, T.G. Deutsch, B.D. James, K.N. Baum, G.N. Baum, S. Ardo,
H.L. Wang, E. Miller, and T.F. Jaramillo. "Technical and economic
feasibility of centralized facilities for solar hydrogen production via
photocatalysis and photoelectrochemistry." Energy & Environmental Science, 2013. 6 (7): 1983-2002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C3EE40831K

3.     J.D. Benck, S.C. Lee, K.D. Fong, J. Kibsgaard, R.
Sinclair, and T.F. Jaramillo. "Designing Active and Stable Silicon Photocathodes
for Solar Hydrogen Production Using Molybdenum Sulfide Nanomaterials."
Advanced Energy Materials, 2014, 4: 1400739. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201400739

4.    
J.D. Benck,* T.R. Hellstern,*
J. Kibsgaard, P. Chakthranont, and T.F. Jaramillo. “Catalyzing the Hydrogen
Evolution Reaction (HER) with Molybdenum Sulfide Nanomaterials." ACS Catalysis, 2014, 4: 3957-3971. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/cs500923c

5.    
T.R.
Hellstern,* J.D. Benck,* J.
Kibsgaard, C. Hahn, and T.F. Jaramillo. "Engineering Cobalt Phosphide
(CoP) Thin Film Catalysts for Enhanced Hydrogen Evolution Activity on Silicon
Photocathodes." Advanced Energy
Materials, 2016. 6 (4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201501758

6.    
S.C.
Lee, J.D. Benck, C. Tsai, J. Park,
A.L. Koh, F. Abild-Pedersen, T.F. Jaramillo, and R. Sinclair. "Chemical
and Phase Evolution of Amorphous Molybdenum Sulfide Catalysts for
Electrochemical Hydrogen Production." ACS
Nano, 2016. 10 (1): 624-632. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.5b05652

7.    
J.
Jia,* L.C. Seitz,* J.D. Benck,* Y.
Huo, Y. Chen, J.W.D. Ng, T. Bilir, J.S. Harris, and T.F. Jaramillo. “Solar
water splitting by PV-electrolysis with a solar-to-hydrogen efficiency over 30%.”
Nature Communications, 2016. 7:
13237. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms13237

8.    
K.V.
Agrawal,* J.D. Benck,* Z. Yuan, R.P.
Misra, A. Govind Rajan, Y. Eatmon, S. Kale, X.S. Chu, D.O. Li, C. Gong, J.
Warner, Q.H. Wang, D. Blankschtein, and M.S. Strano. "Fabrication,
Pressure Testing and Nanopore Formation of Single Layer Graphene
Membranes." The Journal of Physical
Chemistry C, 2017. http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b01796

*Equally
contributing authors