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Education:
Dr. Scott received her Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Iowa State University in 1991. She pursued her postdoctoral studies at the Institut de recherches sur la catalyse in Lyon, France with a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship, and joined the faculty of the University of Ottawa (Canada) in 1994, where she was named to a Canada Research Chair in Catalyst Design. She moved to UCSB in 2002. She is the recipient of an NSERC Women’s Faculty Award (1994-1999), the Polanyi Prize in Chemistry (1994), a Cottrell Scholars Award (1997), and a Union Carbide Innovation Award (1998).
Research:
Research Group Website: https://www.scott.chemengr.ucsb.edu
Research Objective
The Scott group conducts both fundamental and applied research in surface chemistry and catalysis. We aim to understand the interactions and transformations of molecules in solution and at gas-solid interfaces by creating highly uniform active sites. We apply techniques from organometallic and coordination chemistry, surface science, spectroscopy, kinetics, mechanistic analysis and modeling to investigate, design and re-engineer heterogeneous catalysts. A key element of our strategy is to synthesize well-defined molecular precursors and anchor them onto solid supports via self-limiting surface reactions. For example, organochromium complexes CrRx are precursors to active sites in the Phillips (Cr/SiO2) catalysts for ethylene polymerization, while perrhenates such as (CH3)3ReO3 and CH3ReO3 are precursors to supported olefin metathesis catalysts.
Deducing the nature of surface reactions and the structures of active sites is achieved by a combination of kinetics (including stoichiometric and catalytic reaction kinetics, isotope labeling, isotopic transient analysis, and product distribution analysis), as well as spectroscopy (including vibrational, NMR, UV-vis, and X-ray absorption). The group is comprised of researchers in inorganic chemistry, materials and chemical engineering working together to solve catalysis problems at the intersection of chemistry and reaction engineering.
Some of our current research projects include:
• Redox reactions catalyzed by PGM-substituted complex oxides
• Controlled, autocatalytic synthesis of supported metal nanoparticles
• Well-defined supported catalysts for olefin metathesis and tandem alkane metathesis
• Creating and understanding supported olefin polymerization catalysts and cocatalysts
• Surface structure and chemistry of oxides
• Catalytic routes to polymer nanocomposites
• Catalysts for converting biomass to fuels and chemicals
• New spectroscopic and kinetic methods for studying heterogeneous catalysts
Publications:
Selected Research Publications
Catalytic Upcycling of Polyolefins, J. Sun, J. Dong, L. Gao, Y.-Q. Zhao, H. Moon, S.L. Scott, Chem. Rev. 2024, 124, 9457-9579.
Alumina-Titania Nanolaminate Condensers for Hot Programmable Catalysis, K.-R. Oh, A. Walton, J. Chalmers, J. Hopkins, J. Canavan, T.M. Onn, S.L. Scott, C.D. Frisbie, P. Dauenhauer, ACS Catal. 2024, 14, 2418-28.
Selective Catalytic Reduction of CO2 to CO by a Single-Site Heterobimetallic Iron-Potassium Complex Supported on Alumina, A.A. Isah, O. Ohiro, L. Li, Y. Nasiru, K.C. Szeto, P.Y. Dugas, A. Benayad, A. de Mallmann, S.L. Scott, B.R. Goldsmith, M. Taoufik, ACS Catal. 2024, 14, 2418-28.
Supported Platinum Nanoparticles Catalyzed Carbon-Carbon Bond Cleavage of Polyolefins: Role of the Oxide Support Acidity, J.V. Lamb, Y.-H. Lee, J. Sun, C. Byron, R. Uppuluri, R.M. Kennedy, C. Meng, R.K. Behera, Y.-Y. Wang, L. Qi, A.D. Sadow; W. Huang, M.S. Ferrandon, S.L. Scott, K.R. Poeppelmeier, M.M. Abu-Omar, M. Delferro, ACS Appl. Mater. Interf. 2024, 16, 11361-76.
Catalytic Hydrogenolysis by Atomically-Dispersed Iron Sites Embedded in Chemically and Redox Non-Innocent N-Doped Carbon, Z. Luo, L. Li, V.T. Nguyen, U. Kanbur, Y. Li, J. Zhang, R. Nie, A. Biswas, S. Bud’ko, J.-S. Oh, L. Zhou, W. Huang, A. Sadow, B. Wang, S.L. Scott, L. Qi, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024.
Quantitative Analyses of Products and Rates in Polyethylene Depolymerization and Upcycling, Y.H. Lee, J. Sun, S.L. Scott, M.M. Abu-Omar, Star Protocols 2023, 4, 102575.
Enhancing Phenol Adsorption on Hydrophobic Pd/SiO2 to Achieve Faster and More Selective Hydrogenation, J.A. Chalmers, H. Moon, S.F. Ausman, C.C. Chuang, S.L. Scott, Topics Catal. 2023, 66, 1143-1151.
Rigorous Oxidation State Assignments for Supported Ga-Containing Catalysts Using Theory-Informed X-Ray Absorption Spectroscopy Signatures from Well-Defined Ga(I) and Ga(III) Compounds, L. Li, J.A. Chalmers, S. Bare, S.L. Scott, F.D.Vila, ACS Catal. 2023, 13, 6549-6561.
Bifunctional Tandem Catalytic Upcycling of Polyethylene to Surfactant-Range Alkylaromatics, J. Sun, Y.H. Lee, R.D. Yappert, A.M. LaPointe, G.W. Coates, B. Peters, M.M. Abu-Omar, S.L. Scott, Chem 2023, 9, 2318-2336.
Chemical Recycling of Polyethylene by Tandem Catalytic Conversion to Propylene, N.M. Wang, G. Strong, V. DaSilva, L. Gao, R. Huacuja, I.A. Konstantinov, M.S. Rosen, A.J. Nett, S. Ewart, R. Geyer, S.L. Scott, D. Guironnet, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2022, 144, 18526-18531.
High-field NMR, Reactivity, and DFT Modeling Reveal the γ-Al2O3 Surface Hydroxyl Network, N. Merle, T. Tabassum, S. L. Scott, A. Motta, K. Szeto, M. Taoufik, R.M. Gauvin, L. Delevoye, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2022, 61, e202207316.
Chemical Upcycling of Polyethylene into Value-added aw-Divinyl-Functionalized Oligomers, M. Zeng, Y.-H. Lee, G. Strong, A. LaPointe, A.L. Kocen, Z. Qu, G.W. Coates, S.L. Scott, M.M. Abu-Omar, ACS Sust. Chem. Engr. 2021, 9, 13926-13936.
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Investigation into the Origins of Heterogeneity in Silica-supported Dioxomonomolybdates, L. Li, S.L. Scott, J. Phys. Chem. C 2021, 125, 23115-23125.
P-Site Structural Diversity and Evolution in a Zeosil Catalyst, S. Jain, T. Tabassum, L. Li, L. Ren, W. Fan, M. Tsapatsis, S. Caratzoulas, S. Han, S. L. Scott, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2021, 143, 1968–1983.
Polyethylene Upgrading to Long-Chain Alkylaromatics by Tandem Hydrogenolysis/Aromatization, F. Zhang, D. Zeng, R. Yappert, J. Sun, A. Lee, A.M. Lapointe, B. Peters, M.M. Abu-Omar, S.L. Scott, Science 2020, 370, 437-441.
Degradation Rates of Plastics in the Environment, A. Chamas, H. Moon, J. Zheng, Y. Qiu, T. Tabassum, J.H. Jang, M.M. Abu-Omar, S.L. Scott, S. Suh, ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 8, 3494-3511.
Tuning Molecular Adsorption in SBA-15-Type Periodic Mesoporous Organosilicas by Systematic Variation of Surface Polarity, H. Moon, S. Han, S.L. Scott, Chem. Sci. 2020, 11, 3702-3712.
Enhanced Metathesis Activity and Stability of Methyltrioxorhenium on a Mostly Amorphous Alumina: Role of the Local Grafting Environment, F. Zhang, K. C. Szeto, M. Taoufik, L. Delevoye, R.M. Gauvin, S.L. Scott, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 13854-13868.
A Strong Support Effect in Selective Propane Dehydrogenation Catalyzed by Ga(i-Bu)3 Grafted Onto Silica and -Alumina, K.C. Szeto, N. Merle, C. Rios, A. Gallo, Z.R. Jones, L. Delevoye, R.M. Gauvin, S.L. Scott, M. Taoufik, ACS Catal. 2018, 8, 7566-7577.
A Reassessment of the Electronic Structure of Cr(VI) Sites Supported on Amorphous Silica and Implications for Cr Coordination Number, N. Peek, D.B. Jeffcoat, C. Moisii, L. van de Burgt, S. Profeta, S.L. Scott, A.E. Stiegman, J. Phys. Chem. C 2018, 122, 4349-4358.
An Organometallic Cu20 Nanocluster: Synthesis, Characterization, Immobilization on Silica, and “Click” Chemistry A.W. Cook, Z. Jones, G. Wu, S.L. Scott, T.W. Hayton, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2018, 140, 394-400.
Operando MAS-NMR Reaction Studies at High Temperatures and Pressures, E.D. Walter, L. Qi, A. Chamas, H.S. Mehta, J.A. Sears, S.L. Scott, D.W. Hoyt , J. Phys. Chem. C 2018, 122, 8209-8215.