COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING & SCIENCE

Specialties: Catalysis Science, Chemical Reaction Engineering, and Energy and Fuels
Research Center: Institute for Micromanufacturing
Lab: The Xiao Group – Reaction Engineering and Catalysis Science Laboratory

The Xiao Research Group – a Reaction Engineering and Catalysis Science Laboratory (RECSL), led by Prof. Yang Xiao, focuses on fundamental research in heterogeneous catalysis and chemical reaction engineering for a sustainable future. The group is financially funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), the Louisiana Board of Regents (BoR), the Louisiana Space Grant Consortium (LaSPACE), the Louisiana Transportation Research Center (LTRC), and the Louisiana Materials Design Alliance (LAMDA). There are five PhD students, two Master’s students, and seven undergraduate students in the group. We have expertise in (1) Catalyst Synthesis and Characterization, (2) Measurement and Modeling of Kinetics, and (3)  DFT (Density Functional Theory) Calculations and MD (Molecular Dynamics) Simulations.

Catalysis science is the central component and primary driver for sustainable chemical and energy production in the future. The ongoing transition from fossil-based energy resources to alternative energy sources such as shale gas and biomass urgently requires the development of next-generation catalysts and catalytic processes. To move forward, it is imperative to bridge the relatively wide gap between fundamental research of catalysis science and the ability to transfer knowledge to practical innovation, which is essentially based on the discipline of chemical reaction engineering. The Xiao Group addresses these forefront challenges by integrally conducting catalyst design, controlled synthesis, in situ/operando characterization, kinetic measurements, reactor modeling for methane activation, and biomass to valuable chemicals and alternative fuels. The projects typically involve combined experimental and modeling investigations.