Spotlight Feature – Bhavin Siritanaratkul

Postdoctoral Researcher.
Electrocatalytic pathways to olefins.
Stephenson Institute for Renewable Energy, University of Liverpool.
 
I am an electrochemist, and I studied the electrochemistry of enzymes during my DPhil with Prof. Fraser A. Armstrong at Oxford. In addition, I also have experience in solar fuels (sunlight-driven water splitting by oxynitrides) and heterogeneous catalysis (oxidative coupling of methane to ethane and ethylene).
 
At the Centre, the focus of my project is on electrochemical CO₂ conversion to chemicals, in particular ethylene. Electrochemical methods are potentially clean and cheap, provided that the process is efficient in its energy usage. Numerous factors can affect the efficiency and stability of this process (catalyst composition, reactor configuration, etc.), and I will start with looking at controlling the local environment around the catalyst. The long-term vision is to create a process that can be scaled-up to industrial-level plants, making valuable chemicals from CO₂ and renewable electricity.