Jason Hicks
Associate Professor
Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
Associate Professor
College of Engineering
Education
Ph.D, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2007
B.S., Chemistry, Kentucky Wesleyan College, 2003
B.E., Chemical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 2003
Biography
Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame (2016-present)
Assistant Professor, University of Notre Dame (2010-2016)
Lead Research Engineer, Chevron Energy Technology Company (2010)
Research Engineer, Chevron Energy Technology Company (2007-2010)
Selected Publications
Bonita, Y.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Periodic Trends from Metal Substitution in Bimetallic Mo-Based Phosphides for Hydrodeoxygenation and Hydrogenation Reactions”, 2018. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b09363
Kim, J.; Go, D.B.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Synergistic effects of plasma–catalyst interactions for CH4 activation”, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2017, 19, 13010-13021, DOI:10.1039/C7CP01322A.
Rensel, D.J.; Kim, J.; Jain, V.; Bonita, Y.; Rai, N.* and Hicks, J.C.*, “Composition-directed FeXMo2−XP bimetallic catalysts for hydrodeoxygenation reactions”, Catal. Sci. Technol., 2017, 7, 1857-1867, DOI:10.1039/C7CY00324B
Kim, J.; Abbott, M.S.; Go, D.B.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Enhancing C-H Bond Activation of Methane via Temperature-Controlled, Metal-Plasma Interactions”, ACS Energy Letters, 2016, 1, 94–99, DOI: 10.1021/acsenergylett.6b00051.
Rensel, D.J.; Kim, J.; Bonita, Y.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Investigating the multifunctional nature of bimetallic FeMoP catalysts using dehydration and hydrogenolysis reactions”, Applied Catalysis A: General, 2016, 524, 85-93, DOI:10.1016/j.apcata.2016.06.011.
Kim, J.; McNamara, N.D.; Hicks, J.C.*, Stability and Catalytic Activity of Carbon Supported V Oxides and Carbides Synthesized via Pyrolysis of MIL-47 (V), Applied Catalysis A: General, 2016, 517, 141-150, DOI:10.1016/j.apcata.2016.03.011.
McNamara, N.D.; Kim, J.; Hicks, J.C.*, Controlling the Pyrolysis Conditions of Microporous/Mesoporous MIL-125 to Synthesize Porous, Carbon-Supported Ti Catalysts with Targeted Ti Phases for the Oxidation of Dibenzothiophene, Energy & Fuels, 2015, 30, 594-602, DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.5b01946.
McNamara, N.D.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Chelating Agent-Free, Vapor-Assisted Crystallization Method to Synthesize Hierarchical Microporous/Mesoporous (Ti) MIL-125”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2015, 7, 5338–5346. DOI: 10.1021/am508799d
Kim, J.; Neumann, G.T.; McNamara, N.D.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Exceptional Control of Catalytic Hierarchical Carbon Supported Transition Metal Nanoparticles using Metal-Organic Framework Templates”, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2014, 2, 14014-14027. DOI: 10.1039/C4TA03050H
Neumann, G.T.; Pimentel, B.R.§; Rensel, D.J.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Correlating lignin structure to value-added products in the catalytic fast pyrolysis of lignin model compounds containing β-O-4 linkages”, Catalysis Science & Technology, 2014, 4, 3953-3963. DOI: 10.1039/C4CY00569D
Awards
Rev. Edmund P. Joyce, C.S.C., Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (2017)
National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2014)
ACS PRF Doctoral New Investigator Award (2013)
Frank O'Malley Undergraduate Teaching Award (2013)
Summary of Activities/Interests
Our research group is primarily focused in the area of heterogeneous catalysis. We apply concepts from materials science, inorganic chemistry, and chemical reaction engineering to design new catalytic materials for energy applications. We focus primarily on the synthesis and optimization of new types of bimetallic catalysts, zeolites, tethered organic/inorganic catalysts, and metal-organic frameworks, classes of catalysts, which are industrially relevant or have high potential for societal impact by enabling new technologies. We have selected these classes of catalysts due to their well-defined structures at the molecular scale and the ability to tailor their properties to target the desired transformations by varying synthesis parameters or material composition. Ultimately, we strive to create materials that lead to sustainable energy processes and pathways to produce fuels and chemicals more cleanly than current methods. Additionally, we have focused on using renewable resources (non-food based lignocellulosic biomass) or deleterious greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide) as reactants to produce liquid chemicals or fuels. Because of the critical importance of energy generation in modern society, this area of research is of high interest to graduate and undergraduate students, providing many opportunities for scientific and societal impact.
