Jason Hicks

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)

Publications

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, in press.

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), 2015, submitted.

Kim, J.; Oliver, A.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Enhanced CO2 Capture Capacities and Efficiencies with N-Doped Nanoporous Carbons Synthesized from Zn-MOFs Containing Pyridinedicarboxylate Linkers”, CrystEngComm, 2015, DOI: 10.1039/c5ce00828j.

Kim, J.; Oliver, A.; Neumann, G.T.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Zn‐MOFs Containing Pyridine and Bipyridine Carboxylate Organic Linkers and Open Zn2+ Sites”, European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry, 2015, 3011–3018. DOI: 10.1002/ejic.201500245

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

McNamara, N.D.; Hicks, J.C.*, “CO2 Capture and Conversion with a Multifunctional Polyethyleneimine-Tethered Iminophosphine Iridium Catalyst/Adsorbent”, ChemSusChem, 2014, 7, 1114-1124. DOI: 10.1002/cssc.201301231

Kim, J.; McNamara, N.D.; Her, T.H.; Hicks, J.C.*, “Carbothermal Reduction of Ti-Modified IRMOF-3: An Adaptable Synthetic Method to Support Catalytic Nanoparticles on Carbon”, ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2013, 5, 11479-11487, DOI: 10.1021/am404089v

Rensel, D.J.; Rouvimov, S.; Gin, M.E.; Hicks, J.C.*, Highly selective bimetallic FeMoP catalyst for C-O bond cleavage of aryl ethers, J. Catal., 2013, 305, 256-263. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2013.05.026

McNamara, N.D; Neumann, G.T.; Masko, E.T.; Urban, J.A.; Hicks, J.C.*, Catalytic Performance and Stability of (V) MIL-47 and (Ti) MIL-125 in the Oxidative Desulfurization of Heterocyclic Aromatic Sulfur Compounds, J. Catal., 2013, 305, 217-226. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2013.05.021

Neumann, G.T.; Hicks, J.C.*, Dual Roles of Steam in the Dry Gel Synthesis of Mesoporous ZSM-5, Cryst. Growth Des., 2013, 13, 1535–1542. DOI: 10.1021/cg301784m.

Xu, Z.; McNamara, N. D.; Neumann, G. T.; Schneider, W. F.; Hicks, J. C.*, Catalytic Hydrogenation of CO2 to Formic Acid with Silica-Tethered Iridium Catalysts, ChemCatChem, 2013, 5, 1769–1771. DOI: 10.1002/cctc.201200839.

Hicks, J.C.*, “Chemical and Biochemical Catalysis for Next Generation Biofuels, Blake A. Simmons (Ed.)”, Catal. Lett., 2012, 142, 655-656.  DOI: 10.1007/s10562-012-0835-z.

Neumann, G.T.; Hicks, J.C.*, Effects of Cerium and Aluminum in Cerium-Containing Hierarchical HZSM-5 Catalysts for Biomass Upgrading, Top. Catal., 2012, 55, 196–208. DOI: 10.1007/s11244-012-9788-0.

Neumann, G.T.; Hicks, J.C.*, Novel Hierarchical Cerium-Incorporated MFI Zeolite Catalysts for the Catalytic Fast Pyrolysis of Lignocellulosic Biomass, ACS Catal., 2012, 2, 642–646. DOI: 10.1021/cs200648q.

Hicks, J.C.*, Advances in C-O Bond Transformations in Lignin and Lignin-Derived Compounds in Bio-oils for Biofuels Production, J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 2011, 2, 2280-2287. DOI: 10.1021/jz2007885.

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.