J. WillMedlin

  • Denver Business Challenge Endowed Professor
  • CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING
  • MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PROGRAM
Address

Office: JSCBB D123
Mailbox: 596 UCB

Education

BS, Chemical Engineering, Clemson University (1996)
PhD, Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware (2001)
Postdoctoral Fellowship, Sandia National Laboratories (2001-2002)

Awards

  • Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (2021)
  • Visiting Professorship, Chalmers University of Technology, (2017-2018)
  • Dept. of Chemical and Biological Engineering Outstanding Service Award (2016)
  • College of Engineering Dean’s Outstanding Research Award (2015)
  • AIChE Himmelblau Award(shared with John Falconer, Janet Degrazia, Garret Nicodemus) (2015)
  • Dept. of Chemical and Biological Eng. Graduate Teaching Award (2012, 2020)
  • Visiting Professorship, ETH-Zurich (2010-2011)
  • College of Engineering Hutchinson Teaching Award, (2010)
  • 91ɫ Faculty Assembly Teaching Excellence Award, (2009)
  • Provost’s Faculty Achievement Award (2013, 2008)
  • College of Engineering and Applied Science Faculty Development Award (2006)
  • Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Undergraduate Teaching Award (2006, 2009)
  • National Science Foundation CAREER Award (2004)
  • College of Engineering and Applied Science Junior Faculty Award (2006)
  • Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award (2004)

Selected Publications

  • Y. Xu, H. Pham, A.K. Datye, A. Holewinski, J.W. Medlin, “Using Pore Window Size to Control Selectivity for Acetylene Hydrogenation on Pd@ LTA Zeolite 䲹ٲٲ”, ACS Catalysis 15 (2025) 12816-12821;
  • L.I. Paz Herrera, R. Cortright, J.W. Medlin, “Effects of water vapor on the reactivity of aluminosilicates in vapor-phase propanal aldol condensation”, Journal of Catalysis 447 (2025) 116110;
  • B.E. Oliphant, L.I. Paz Herrera, J.W. Medlin, “Improving the Selectivity of Aldehyde–Ketone Cross-Aldol Condensation Reactions with Phosphate-Modified TiO2 䲹ٲٲ”, ACS Catalysis 15 (2025) 6990-7002;
  • X. Zhao, J.L. Falconer, J.W. Medlin, “Organic-coated zeolites for selective gas adsorption: Effect of functional group Identity and coating density”, Separation and Purification Technology, 363 (2025) 132040;
  • A.H. Jenkins, E.E. Dunphy, M.F. Toney, C.B. Musgrave, J.W. Medlin, “Tailoring the Near-Surface Environment of Rh Single-Atom Catalysts for Selective CO2 DzԲپDz”, ACS Catal. 13 (2023) 15340-15350;
  • L. Chen, P. Moura, J.W. Medlin, H. Grönbeck, “Multiple Roles of Alkanethiolate‐Ligands in Direct Formation of H2O2 over Pd Nanoparticles”, Angewandte Chemie 61 (2022) e202213113;
  • J.K. Kenny, D.G. Brandner, S.R. Neefe, W.E. Michener, Y. Román-Leshkov, G.T. Beckham, J.W. Medlin, “Catalyst choice impacts aromatic monomer yields and selectivity in hydrogen-free reductive catalytic fractionation”, Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 7 (2022) 2527-2533;
  • J. Zhang, S. Deo, M.J. Janik, J.W. Medlin, “Control of molecular bonding strength on metal catalysts with organic monolayers for CO2 ܳپDz”, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 142 (2020) 5184-5193;
  • J. Zhang, L.D. Ellis, B. Wang, M.J. Dzara, C. Sievers, S. Pylypenko, E. Nikolla, J.W. Medlin “Control of interfacial acid–metal catalysis with organic monolayers”, Nature Catalysis, 1 (2018) 148-155;

Research Interests

Our group investigates reactions at solid surfaces for renewable and sustainable energy applications. We are particularly focused on interfacial chemistry important in the conversion of biomass to fuels and chemicals. Biomass-derived carbohydrates and lipids contain a high degree of oxygenate functionality, and it is a major challenge to develop new catalysts capable of selective conversions of the oxygenates to useful fuel and chemical products. A major focus of our group is to design such catalysts based on a molecular-scale understanding of the oxygenate-catalyst interaction.

Our efforts to research various applications are united by a common theme: a variety of experimental and computational tools are employed to obtain a detailed understanding of chemical and physical phenomena at solid surfaces. Having this understanding in hand allows us to design improved catalysts that we can screen under realistic conditions in chemical reactors.

Our research focuses on the following main areas:

  • Surface reactivity and catalyst design for conversion of biomass-derived oxygenates to chemicals
  • Model studies of electrocatalytic interfaces
  • Designing artificial “binding pockets” on metal catalysts
  • Catalysts for conversion of waste plastics to fuels and chemicals
  • Fundamental investigations of metal – metal oxide – organic interfaces

Other Program Associations

Materials Science and Engineering Program