Mavrikakis featured on the MRS Bulletin Materials News podcast

Manos Mavrikakis, the Ernest Micek Distinguished Chair, James A. Dumesic Professor, and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in chemical and biological engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was recently interviewed for the MRS Bulletin Materials News podcast.

In the episode, Mavrikakis and host Elizabeth Wilson discuss a paper published last year in the journal Science about his group’s theoretical work on real-world industrial catalytic conditions.

It is often assumed that most catalyst surface atoms stay in place during a reaction, firmly bonded to their metal neighbors. However, Mavrikakis’s theoretical framework shows that under industrial reaction conditions, a surprising amount of metal–metal bond breaking is likely happening. His framework predicts that under reaction conditions, this can lead to ejection of metal atoms on the surface, which collect together into groups that form new types of active sites.

This new understanding may allow engineers and chemists to develop more efficient catalysts and tune industrial processes, potentially with enormous energy savings.

Listen to the podcast here.