Matthew Neurock

Shell Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science

Contact Information
Email: mneurock@umn.edu
Phone: 612/301-3419

Education
B.S., Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University, 1986
Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, 1992

Research Areas
Applied & Computational Mathematics
Catalysis, Separations & Reaction Engineering
Electrochemical Materials & Devices
Energy
Materials Theory
Nanomaterials & Nanotechnology

Research Interests
Our research is focused the development and application of computational tools that can simulate heterogeneous
catalytic systems important in the sustainable production fuels, chemicals and materials. First principle quantum
chemical methods are used together with microkinetic simulations to understand, design and control the atomic
scale features of the catalyst and its reaction environment that govern the explicit molecular transformations that
occur on and within catalysts for a wide range of different applications. This includes the sustainable conversion of
biorenewables to fuels and chemicals, electrocatalysis for fuel cells and energy conversion devices, the activation of
methane and light alkanes into fuel and chemical intermediates, the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and fine chemical
intermediates and the catalytic removal of pollutants and waste. Ab initio quantum chemical, molecular dynamics
and molecular reaction engineering methods are developed and used to tie catalyst structure to catalyst
performance and aid in the design of a wide range of new catalytic materials including supported nanometer-sized
metallic, bimetallic, and clusters and particles, mixed metal oxides, metal sulfides, microporous materials and hybrid
inorganic/organic systems. Most of the work is carried out in direct collaboration with experimental collaborators to
provide a strong synergy between theory and experiment to guide the development of catalytic materials. There
are also strong ties and support from industry on projects to aid in the optimization of current catalytic processes
and to help establish the potential for new catalytic conversion strategies.

Awards

DuPont Young Faculty Award, 1997-2000

Ford Motor Company Young Faculty Award 1998-2000
NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award 1997-2001
Distinguished Catalysis Scientist, Pacific Northwest Laboratories, March 2003
Army Research Office Top Performing Investigator, 2007
Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis, North American Catalysis Society
R.H. Wilhelm Award in Chemical Reaction Engineering from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers 2007

Selected Publications
D. Hibbitts, Q. Tan, and M. Neurock, Acidity of Hydroxides on Alloys of Noble Metals and Oxophilic Oxide Promoters
such as Rh-ReOx, J. Catal., 315, 48-58, 2014.
Q. Zhu, S. L. Wegener, C. Xie, O. Uuche, M. Neurock, and T. J. Marks, Sulfur as a Soft Oxidation for the Catalytic
Conversion of Methane, Nature Chemistry, 5, 2, 104, 2013.
F. Calaza, M. Mahapatra, M. Garvey, M. Neurock, and W.T. Tysoe, Disentangling Ensemble, Electronic and Coverage
Effects on Alloy Catalysts: Vinyl Acetate Synthesis on Au/Pd(111), J. Catal., 312, 37-45, 2014.
Chin, Y.H., C. Buda, M. Neurock, and E. Iglesia, Consequences of Metal-Oxide Interconversion for C-H Bond
Activation during CH4 Reactions on Pd Catalysts, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 135 (41), 15425"15442, 2013.
D. Hibbitts, B.T. Loveless, M. Neurock and E. Iglesia, Mechanistic Role of Water on the Rate and Selectivity of
Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis on Ruthenium Catalysts, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 52, 47, 12273, 2013.
I. X. Green, W. Tang, M. Neurock, and J. T. Yates, Jr., Mechanistic Insights into the Partial Oxidation of Acetic Acid by
O2 at the Dual Perimeter Sites of a Au/TiO2 Catalyst, Faraday Disc., 162, 247-265, 2013.
N. Partha, S. Hwang, W. Tang, M. Neurock, and A. Katz, Catalytic Consequences of Open and Closed Grafted Al(III)Calix[4]arene Complexes: Hydride and Oxo Transfer Reactions, Proc. of the National Academy, 110, 7, 2484-2489,
2013.
B. Braunchweig, D. Hibbitts, M. Neurock, and A. Wieckowski, Electrocatalysis: A Fuel Cell, Catal. Today, 202, 197209, 2013.
M. Chia, M. A. Haider, M. Neurock, and J. A. Dumesic, Mechanistic Insights into Ring Opening and Decarboxylation
of 2-Pyrones in Liquid Water and Tetrahydrofuran Solvents, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 135, 15, 5699-5708, 2013.
I. X. Green, W. Tang, M. Neurock, and J.T. Yates, Jr., Spectroscopic Observation of Dual Catalytic Sites During
Oxidation of CO on a Au/TiO2 Catalyst, Science, 333, 6043, 736-739, 2011.
B. N. Zope, D. Hibbitts, M. Neurock, R. J. Davis, Reactivity of the Gold/Water Interface During Selective Oxidation
Catalysis, Science, 330, 6000, 74-78, 2010.
M. Ide, B. Hao, M. Neurock, and R.J. Davis, Mechanistic Insights on the Hydrogenation of a, b unsaturated Ketones
and Aldehydes to Unsaturated Alcohols over Metal Catalysts, ACS Catal.,2, 4, 671-683, 2012.
M. Neurock, "Engineering Molecular Transformations for Sustainable Energy Conversion." M. Neurock. Ind. Eng.
Chem. Res. 49, 10183, 2010.
Rutger A. van Santen and Matthew Neurock, Molecular Heterogeneous Catalysis: A Mechanistic and Computational
Approach, VCH-Wiley, Inc. 2006.