Cambridge Supervisor: Ewa Marek
Berkeley Host: Jeffrey Neaton
Xiaoyu Dai is currently a research fellow in the energy reactions and carriers group at Department of chemical engineering and biotechnology, University of Cambridge, which is funded by Swiss National Science Foundation. After finishing her PhD in energy science at Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, she moved to UK, worked as research fellow for one year at Electrochemical Innovation Lab, University College London. Her research interests focus on developing innovative perovskite-metal catalyst pairs for chemical looping applications, with a particular emphasis on selective oxidation reactions, such as ethylene epoxidation.
The project will be conducted at Berkeley is to investigate the fundamental mechanisms governing oxygen migration in a metal catalyst–perovskite system (Ag–SrFeO₃) for selective chemical looping (CL) epoxidation of ethylene. By using advanced computational methods (DFT), the research aims to clarify how oxygen travels from the bulk perovskite lattice, across the catalyst interface, and into the gas phase. This knowledge will enable more efficient, low-temperature catalytic transformations that minimize by-product formation and reduce energy consumption. Beyond Ag–SrFeO₃, the project will develop a computational framework to screen other metal–perovskite combinations, accelerating the discovery of new materials for sustainable industrial processes. By aligning with the Winton Programme’s goal to harness fundamental physics for urgent sustainability challenges, the outcomes promise to inform next-generation catalyst design with broad applicability and minimal environmental impact.