_{^{Speaker: Dr. Joe DuChene is an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Massachusetts – Amherst.}}

_{^{Title of Talk: Catalysis at the Nanoscale for the Sustainable Synthesis of Fuels and Chemicals}}

_{^{Abstract: Humanity is faced with the daunting task of meeting our ever-growing global demand for resources without causing catastrophic climate change. If we are to eventually establish a sustainable society, we must learn to synthesize useful chemicals, fuels, and materials from readily abundant small molecules using renewable forms of energy. Taking inspiration from ecology, I will suggest strategies for tackling one of the greatest technological challenges of our time and highlight some of the challenges currently hindering humanity from realizing a sustainable future. To that end, I will also share two distinct approaches my lab is pursuing towards the synthesis of nanoscale catalysts capable of converting common pollutants into useful chemicals using only photons or electrons as the energy input. In one approach, we exploit the unique light-matter interactions of plasmonic-metal nanoparticles for photochemical materials growth and evaluate how intrinsic material properties govern the quantum efficiency of plasmonic photocatalysis. In a separate strategy, we are developing the design rules for surfactant-free, electrochemical growth of shape-controlled metal nanoparticles for electrosynthesis of fuels and chemicals.}}