Postdoctoral Fellowship: MPS-Ascend: Heterogeneous Single-Atom Catalysts for Oxidative N-N Bond Formation

Patrick Q. Kelly is awarded an NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NSF MPS-Ascend) to conduct a program of research and activities related to broaden participation by groups underrepresented in STEM. This fellowship to Dr. Kelly supports the research project entitled “Postdoctoral Fellowship: MPS-Ascend: Heterogeneous Single-Atom Catalysts for Oxidative N-N Bond Formation” under the mentorship of a sponsoring scientist. The host institution for the fellowship is the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the sponsoring scientist is Dr. Shannon Stahl. The proposal intends to develop isolated metal centers on nitrogen-doped carbon (MNxC) materials as single-atom heterogeneous catalysts for intramolecular and intermolecular N-N bond forming reactions. The proposed oxidative N-N bond formation will enable the synthesis of valuable compounds and allow direct interrogation of bond-formation on MNxC catalysts. The proposed research involves the synthesis of MNxC catalysts by pyrolysis of the appropriate precursors, and the tuning and optimization of the process to vary the geometries and coordination spheres of the metal centers. Successful implementation of this work will provide a set of scalable transformations for the synthesis of valuable compounds for pharmaceutical, agricultural, and energy-related applications, alongside detailed mechanistic insights into N-N and other bond forming reactions. The PI intends to mentor undergraduate and early-career graduate students and to empower high school students through hands-on science activities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.