재료화학 및 촉매 연구실

Our research focuses on the design of nanostructured electrocatalysts with precisely controlled atomic structures and chemical environments. By understanding how the atomic structure and local environment of catalytic active sites govern reaction pathways, activity, and selectivity, we seek to develop new catalysts and electrochemical processes for sustainable energy conversion and chemical production. Our group integrates atomic-scale catalyst design, electrocatalytic reactivity studies, and mechanistic investigations using spectroscopic, microscopic, and computational approaches to establish fundamental relationships between catalyst structure and catalytic function. Our long-term goal is to steer electrochemical reactions toward desired products through atomic-scale control of catalytic active sites, thereby overcoming conventional limitations in catalytic activity and selectivity. Our target reactions for renewable energy conversion include the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and fuel oxidation reactions in fuel cells, as well as the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in water electrolyzers. For sustainable chemical production, we focus on the electrosynthesis of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and the chlorine evolution reaction (CER). Many of these reactions conventionally rely on platinum-group-metal (PGM) catalysts, including Pt, Ru, and Ir, to overcome sluggish reaction kinetics; however, their high cost and scarcity limit their widespread and sustainable use. To address these challenges, we explore alternative catalyst platforms that minimize precious-metal usage while maximizing catalytic performance. These include atomically dispersed single-site catalysts, heteroatom-doped carbons, and intermetallic and interstitial compounds. Ou