Author: Jimmy A. Faria A., University of Twente, the Netherlands (website)

When: May, 12 - 3PM 

Where: Sala de Seminarios, ICMM-CSIC

Abstract: Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques have been instrumental in the fabrication of a mirage of well-defined materials for applications as diverse as microchip manufacturing, power electronics, sensing, and catalysis. The large degrees of freedom offered by CVD allows us to generate materials with atomically controlled surface chemistry and nano-architecture. This brings unique opportunities in the field of catalysis where structure and chemistry dictate the activity and selectivity observed during reaction.
In my group, we are interested in using chemical vapor deposition synthesis routes to generate catalysts with controlled wettability, stability, and activity to convert complex feedstocks such as biomass, plastics, and wastewater. In this seminar, I will explore the utilization of CVD for the fabrication of amphiphilic catalysts based on metal oxides and carbon nanotubes that can simultaneously activate reactions and stabilize water-oil emulsions. These materials offer unique opportunities for bio-oil upgrading as well as production of chemical building blocks from sugars. In addition, I will present our most recent efforts in developing a fundamental understanding of how fluid-dynamics and surface chemistry dictates the fate of the chemical vapor deposition of 2D nanostructures based on molybdenum sulfide (MoS2), paving the way for scalable synthesis of transition metal dichalcogenides.


Short Bio:
Jimmy is a professor at the University of Twente (The Netherlands) working in the Faculty of Science and Technology. He obtained his B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering at the National Polytechnique University “Antonio José de Sucre” (Venezuela) in 2008. Then, he did his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma (USA) on catalysis in emulsions. After graduation he moved to Spain to work in the corporate R&D center of Abengoa leading hydrogen production and biomass valorization research. In 2017 he moved to the University of Twente where he leads the research efforts on smart catalytic materials and processes for sustainable chemical conversions relevant for chemical energy storage and circular carbon within the department of chemical engineering.