Electrochemistry-Driven Small Molecule Upgrading for Sustainable Chemical Manufacturing
Jan 23, 2026
2:30PM to 3:30PM
Date/Time
Date(s) - 23/01/2026
2:30 pm - 3:30 pm
Categories
Prof. Sunmoon Yu
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto
Global efforts to decarbonize industrial sectors are accelerating in pursuit of a sustainable future. Among them, the chemical manufacturing industry is one of the largest contributors to global CO2 emissions, underscoring the urgent need for green technologies to replace fossil fuel-based, energy-intensive chemical production processes. Electrochemical upgrading of CO2 into high-value chemicals, powered by renewable electricity, offers a promising, carbon-neutral pathway. However, to replace well-established thermochemical processes, it is essential to develop energy-efficient and highly selective electrocatalysts that enable cost-competitive chemical and fuel production from CO2. A major challenge in this field lies in the limited fundamental understanding of how catalysts structurally evolve under operating conditions and how catalytic microenvironments are formed in situ. In this seminar, I will discuss the dynamic nature of catalytic active site and their surrounding microenvironment under electrochemical conditions, highlighting key challenges and strategies to tune them for improved CO2 upgrading. I will conclude by presenting future research directions, which focus on the development of well-defined yet tunable electroactive materials for electrochemical carbon capture and small molecule upgrading.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Sunmoon Yu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Toronto. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, supported by the Samsung Scholarship, where he studied nanoparticle catalysts for electrochemical CO2 conversion. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, he conducted postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on molecular catalysts for CO2 conversion. His research focuses on developing electroactive materials for electrochemical CO2 capture and conversion, and small molecule upgrading.
In-Person: ABB 102
Online: Echo360