Geoffrey Hopping

ghopping3 at gatech dot edu
B.S., Chemical Engineering: Purdue University (2023)

Project: Modulation of Oxygen Surface Intermediates for Electrochemical Epoxidations

Project Description: The production of commodity chemicals via electrochemical oxidation of organic feedstocks presents a promising opportunity for decarbonization of the chemical industry, especially when performed in tandem with a valuable electroreduction reaction. Direct epoxidation of olefin substrates with water allows for the production of various epoxide products (>$70 billion global market) at the anode of an electrochemical cell while also producing valuable hydrogen gas at the cathode. Prior research has demonstrated that reactive oxygen intermediates (e.g., O*, OO*, OH*) generated in situ at the anode surface are responsible for governing electrochemical epoxidation reactions. In my research, I seek understanding of how to design and synthesize catalysts that are capable of promoting these reactive oxygen species, as well as how we can operate an electrochemical reactor during catalysis for further control of these species.