William Broomhead

wbroomhead3 at gatech dot edu
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto (2025)
B.Ch.E., Chemical Engineering, University of Minnesota (2019)
B.Sc., Chemistry, University of Minnesota (2019)
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Gas Cylinder Manager | CEO of 1305

Project: Selective oxidation of polyols 

Project Description: Selective oxidation reactions of sustainably derived polyols give valuable diacid products as precursors to polymers, corrosion inhibitors, and various specialty chemicals. These reactions occur on supported metal nanoparticles, but are plagued by both poor selectivity and deactivation, the latter primarily due to active site poisoning by strongly bound surface intermediates. Additionally, the mechanistic details at the catalyst surface and the role of the open circuit potential are not well described. To address these challenges, my project uses a multidisciplinary approach, with trickle-bed reactor kinetic studies coupled with adsorption thermodynamics and materials characterization. Furthermore, by manipulating the catalyst structure, site proximity, and the electrostatic potential at the active sites, we can improve diacid yield in the selective oxidation of polyols.