Faculty Recruiting Seminar - Jin Huang

The Department of Chemistry presents: Jin Huang

Northwestern University

Title: Cracking Catalyst Secrets Through Accelerated Materials Discovery

Location: WEL 2.122

Refreshments served at 3:15pm

Catalysts enable the chemical reactions that define modern life, from energy conversion to the production of essential chemicals and materials. However, developing the next generation of catalysts for clean energy and sustainable manufacturing requires moving beyond slow, trial-and-error approaches. In this talk, I will introduce two powerful strategies that aim to accelerate both catalyst discovery and our understanding of catalytic processes.

First, I will introduce an experimentally derived descriptor that reveals essential structure–property relationships in Pt-alloy systems. Platinum is the benchmark oxygen reduction reaction catalyst in fuel cells, but it remains expensive, and its activity and stability still fall short of practical requirements. This descriptor provided a rapid way to evaluate reactivity across many Pt-based catalysts and helped establish design principles.

Second, I will highlight the creation of a “megalibrary” platform containing more than one hundred million nanoparticlees that systematically vary in size, composition, and structure. By integrating these libraries with high-throughput characterization, combinatorial electrochemical screening, and AI-assisted analysis, we addressed the materials discovery bottleneck for green hydrogen production. In particular, we identified efficient non-Ir and low-Ir oxygen evolution reaction catalysts, which is an urgent need given the scarcity of iridium and its central role in water electrolysis.

Together, these approaches demonstrate how combining reaction mechanisms, data-rich experimental platforms, and machine learning can transform how we uncover catalytic reactivity and accelerate the design of next-generation catalysts for sustainable energy and chemical technologies.