
Diogo Mendes
dmendes3 at gatech dot edu
B.S., Mechanical Engineering: Georgia Southern University (2025)
Project: Direct Propylene Oxidation via Electrochemical Routes
Project Description: Propylene Oxide (PO) is a benchmark chemical used in the production of propylene glycol, polyurethanes, and other industrially relevant chemicals. Currently, production of PO relies on highly corrosive chemical oxidants such peroxides or chlorine. Electrocatalysis offers a sustainable approach to use water as a sustainable source of reactive oxygen intermediates at the anode to facilitate the oxidation of propylene feedstock to PO. Due to the formation of low-value byproducts such as acetone, and poor electrode stability, the design of anodic electrode catalysts and electrolyte remain necessary. My research focuses on synthesizing a library of stable mono- and bimetallic catalysts, assessing their performance toward propylene epoxidation, and determining the underlying reaction mechanism for these materials via kinetic studies.