Our research interests are in the area of heterogeneous catalysis, nanoparticle synthesis and surface science, and the application of such catalysts to environmental processes. Our particular focus is on the rational design of new catalytic materials with controlled nanostructures and investigating the relationship between size/structure and composition of nanoparticles and their catalytic activity with the purpose of optimizing nanoscale formulations that have superior reactivity. Embedded in these studies is the evaluation of the materials after hydrothermal treatments at elevated temperatures that is fundamental to their stability.
The Kyriakidou group advances the use of a variety of different experimental techniques, such as temperature-programmed studies, FTIR spectroscopy, chemisorption of probe molecules, UV-vis spectroscopy, Transmission/Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy-Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Through collaborations with Oak Ridge National Laboratory we utilize highly specialized equipment for the characterization of the nanostructure of catalytic materials.
In addition to experimental approaches, the Kyriakidou group utilizes UB’s high performance computing clusters to perform density functional theory (DFT) calculations. In collaboration with Eric A. Walker (Computational Scientist, Research Assistant Professor at the Institute of Computational and Data Sciences at UB) , theoretical models are used to investigate a large variety of catalytic systems from gas phase oxidation to highly complex zeolite frameworks. These computational efforts help bolster experimental findings and hypotheses in our lab and help pioneer the forefront of computational catalysis.
Our Research Areas: • Pd/Zeolite Catalysts: Clean Exhaust in Natural Gas Vehicles
• Non-PGM Nickel/Ceria-Zirconia based Catalysts for CH4 Oxidation
• Vehicle Emissions Trapping Materials
• Oxidative Dehydrogenation of Propane (ODHP) to Propylene
• Low Temperature Oxidation Catalysts
