Stephanie Kwon

The major sources of energies and materials that we use in daily life are produced by chemical reactions that break and form chemical bonds. These reactions can be controlled in specificity using catalysis, which enhances the rate of the desired reaction through the stabilization of the transition state that mediates such route. The demand for catalysis has recently grown even more with challenges in supplying fossil fuels and with growing concerns in global warming and environmental issues.

The main goal of my research group is to understand the identity and kinetic relevance of the requisite elementary steps involved in heterogeneous catalysis in order to ultimately design catalytic systems with improved reactivity and selectivity toward desired products. Such goal is achieved by rigorously combining atomic-level synthetic methods, characterization tools, and theoretical assessments, which allow us to understand and control catalytic reactions at a molecular-level. The results of our projects will provide mechanistic insights into current catalytic systems and help to develop new catalysts with minimal energy requirements and environmental impacts.

Education & Experience

• BS, Seoul National University
• PhD, Northwestern University
• Post-Doctoral Study, UC Berkeley

Selected Publications

• Kwon, S., Lin, T. C., and Iglesia, E. (2020) Elementary Steps and Site Requirements in Formic Acid Dehydration Reactions on Anatase and Rutile TiO₂ Surfaces. J. Catal., 383, 60–76.
• Kwon, S., Deshlahra, P., and Iglesia, E., (2019) Reactivity and Selectivity Descriptors of Dioxygen Activation Routes on Metal Oxides. J. Catal., 377, 692–710.
• Kwon, S., Deshlahra, P., and Iglesia, E., (2018) Dioxygen activation routes in Mars-van Krevelen redox cycles catalyzed by metal oxides, J. Cat., 364, 228–247.     
• Kwon, S., Liao, P., Stair, P. C, and Snurr, R. Q., (2016) Alkaline-earth metal-oxide overlayers on TiO₂: application toward CO₂ photoreduction, Catal Sci Technol., 6, 7885–7895.       
• Kwon, S., Schweitzer, N. M., Park, S.Y., Stair, P. C, and Snurr, R. Q. (2015) A kinetic study of vapor- phase cyclohexene epoxidation by H₂O₂ over mesoporous TS-1, J. Cat., 323, 117-115.