Abstract: Chemical transformation processes reply heavily on catalysts made of carefully designed nanoparticles on supports. Many of these transformations involve oxygen species, which are important in the chemical, petrochemical, and energy industries, ranging from chemical production, such as epoxidation and automobile exhaust treatment, to electrocatalysts for hydrogen-powered fuel cells and metal-air batteries.

In this presentation, I will present our recent efforts in the following areas related to catalyst and nanomaterial developments for sustainable technologies:

1. Low- and non-platinum group metal (PGM) oxygen-reduction catalysts
2. Ternary metal-oxide electrocatalysts, such as pyrochlores (A₂B₂O₇), for oxygen evolution reaction

I will focus on illustrating the design principles of high-performance catalysts by examining the structure-catalytic property relationship under dynamic, reactive conditions and by developing quantitative analytical models for the synthesis of nanostructured catalyst materials.