CBE colloquia - Visualisation of Chemical Reactions with X-ray Spectroscopy
Supporting the below United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:支持以下聯合國可持續發展目標：支持以下联合国可持续发展目标：
Understanding chemical reaction dynamics under real-world operating conditions is crucial for advancing energy conversion and storage technologies. Complex reactions at material interfaces—whether within battery electrodes or heterogeneous systems—present significant challenges due to transient intermediates and intricate surface processes that elude conventional characterisation methods. In this talk, I will introduce innovative operando X-ray spectroscopy techniques that leverage synchrotron radiation and X-ray free electron lasers to capture these fleeting phenomena in real-time. Our approach encompasses 1) Quantifying half reaction rates to pinpoint rate-determining steps, 2) Measuring bond energy changes along with the surface reactions, and 3) Observing ultrafast electron transfer dynamics at femtosecond-to-picosecond timescales.
These first-time observations offer unprecedented molecular-level insights into reaction mechanisms and guide the rational design of next-generation materials. The resulting catalysts and electrode materials exhibit performance enhancements of 5–100 times over conventional systems, with significant implications for applications ranging from emission control and H₂ production to fuel cells and beyond.
References:
1) L. Chen, et al., Nat. Commun. 2025, 16, 26.
2) C. X. Wang, et al., Nat. Commun. 2024, 15, 8290.
3) L. Chen, et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2024, 121, e2404830121.
4) X. Z. Guan, et al., Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2024, 42, e202410457.
5) K. Xu, et al., Nat. Commun. 2024, 15, 5751.
6) Z. H. Gao, et al., Adv. Energy Mater. 2024, 2304488.
Dr. Feng Ryan Wang is an Associate Professor at the Chemical Engineering Department of UCL. He obtained his PhD in Chemistry at Peking University in 2012. He was an Alexander von Humboldt Research Fellow at the Max-Planck Institute für Kohlenforschung between 2013 and 2015. He applies advanced X-ray techniques to catalysis and energy storage systems, gaining a fundamental understanding of the bond-breaking and formation process under working conditions. He has been awarded the Young Scientist Prize at the 16th International Congress of Catalysis. He is now serving the EPSRC strategic advisory team on capital equipment, the EPSRC high-level group of the National Research Facility, the Editorial Board of ChemCatChem and the net-zero committee of the UK catalysis hub. Through those roles, he has influenced the government funding decisions in large facilities, including Diamond II, ISIS II and UK XFEL.