Research Interests:
Ye Xu is a Research and Development Associate with joint appointment in Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences and Chemical Sciences Division. He received his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at University of Wisconsin-Madison and joined ORNL in 2004 as a post-doctoral research associate.
Dr. Xu’s research centers on energy- and environment-relevant heterogeneous catalytic reactions and involves applying first-principles electronic structure-based methods to the investigation of molecular, surface, and bulk chemical reactivity; thermodynamics and kinetics of elementary processes; and reaction mechanisms. The ultimate objective is to generate theoretical insights with which to guide the design and selection of new or improved catalytic materials.
Selected current research themes include:
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Size- and environment-dependent reactivity of metal clusters
- Oxygen reduction on transition metals
- Aqueous-phase hydrogenation of organic molecules
- Adsorptions and reactions on ceria and ceria-supported metal clusters
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