DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Affiliations

Argonne National Lab

Research Statement

Peter Stair received a B.S. in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1972 and a Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley in 1977 under the supervision of Gabor Somorjai. He has been on the faculty at Northwestern University since 1977. He is Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Center for Catalysis and Surface Science and of the Institute for Catalysis in Energy Processes. He is a Senior Scientist in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Division at Argonne National Laboratory and Deputy Director of the Institute for Atom-efficient Chemical Transformations. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from UC Berkeley. His research interests are in the synthesis, characterization, and physical properties of heterogeneous catalysts. He has worked in surface science and in-situ Raman spectroscopy. His goal is to develop fundamental understanding in catalysis science that leads to advances in industrial chemistry and energy technology. He is a past recipient of the Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award and recipient of the 2010 ACS George Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry.

Selected Publications

Lu, J., K.M. Kosuda, R.P. Van Duyne, and P.C. Stair, Surface Acidity and Properties of TiO2/SiO2 Catalysts Prepared by Atomic Layer Deposition: UV-visible Diffuse Reflectance, DRIFTS, and Visible Raman Spectroscopy Studies. J. Phys. Chem. C, 2009. 113(28): p. 12412-12418.

Kim, H.-S., S.A. Zygmunt, P.C. Stair, P. Zapol, and L.A. Curtiss, Monomeric Vanadium Oxide on a ?-Al2O3 Support: A Combined Experimental/Theoretical Study. J. Phys. Chem. C, 2009. 113(20): p. 8836-8843.

Feng, H., J.W. Elam, J.A. Libera, M.J. Pellin, and P.C. Stair, Catalytic Nanoliths. Chemical Engineering Science, 2009. 64: p. 560-7.

Christensen, S.T., J.W. Elam, F.A. Rabuffetti, Q. Ma, S.J. Weigand, B. Lee, S. Seifert, P.C. Stair, K.R. Poeppelmeier, M.C. Hersam, and M.J. Bedzyk, Controlled growth of platinum nanoparticles on strontium titanate nanocubes by atomic layer deposition. Small, 2009. 5(6): p. 750-757.

Stair, P.C., Advanced synthesis for advancing heterogeneous catalysis. Journal of Chemical Physics, 2008. 128(18): p. 182507/1-182507/4.

Wu, Z., P.C. Stair, S. Rugmini, and S.D. Jackson, Raman Spectroscopic Study of V/?-Al2O3 Catalysts: Quantification of Surface Vanadia Species and Their Structure Reduced by Hydrogen. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2007. 111(44): p. 16460-16469.

Stair, P.C., The Application of UV Raman Spectroscopy for the Characterization of Catalysts and Catalytic Reactions. Advances in Catalysis, 2007. 51: p. 75-98.

Kim, C.-Y., A.A. Escuadro, P.C. Stair, and M.J. Bedzyk, Atomic-Scale View of Redox-Induced Reversible Changes to a Metal-Oxide Catalytic Surface: VOx/a-Fe2O3(0001). Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2007. 111(5): p. 1874-1877.

Elam, J.W., J.A. Libera, M.J. Pellin, and P.C. Stair, Spatially controlled atomic layer deposition in porous materials. Applied Physics Letters, 2007. 91(24): p. 243105/1-243105/3.

Wu, Z. and P.C. Stair, UV Raman spectroscopic studies of V/?-Al2O3 catalysts in butane dehydrogenation. Journal of Catalysis, 2006. 237(2): p. 220-229.

Selected Honors/Awards

• American Chemical Society Award in Hydrocarbon and Petroleum Chemistry, 2010
• Alexander von Humboldt Senior Scientist Award, 2002
• Guest Professor at the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2001
• Scientific Advisory Board, Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 2005-present
• Editorial Advisory Board of Langmuir, 1993-98
• Editorial Advisory Board, Catalysis Letters, 2004-present