Paul Duchesne
Assistant Professor
Materials & Physical
Department of Chemistry
Chernoff Hall, CHE306 (office), CHE430 (lab)
Department of Chemistry
90 Bader Lane
Queen's University
Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6
Lab Tel: 613-533-6000 ext. 74394
Research Interests
Topics
- Heterogeneous Catalysis
- X-ray Spectroscopy
- Renewable Fuels
Summary
Sustainable energy generation is a topic of critical importance, with each technology offering better performance in some applications than others. Especially in the context of transportation, renewable fuels offer both high energy-density and long-term stability for energy storage. Research in our group focuses on the development of novel heterogeneous catalyst materials using inexpensive and Earth-abundant elements. In addition to evaluating their performance in the synthesis of renewable fuels and value-added chemicals, we also employ in situ X-ray spectroscopy techniques (XPS, XANES, EXAFS, etc.) to better understand the behaviour of these catalysts under realistic operating conditions. In doing so, we aim to better understand the function of these materials, enabling the development of next-generation heterogeneous catalysts.