The global demand for functionalized chemical products requires active and selective catalysts. Many current technologies are based on rare and expensive noble metal catalysts. The Delley laboratory addresses challenges in the area of heterogeneous catalysis and sustainability through a fundamental understanding of interfacial chemistry. We aim to develop inorganic materials as selective catalysts for chemical transformations, and examine electric fields as external control on catalysis for a customizable production of chemicals. 

We are using a highly multidisciplinary approach including tailored surfaces, physical parameters at the interface, and chemical intuition and strategies borrowed from molecular and biological systems. We employ a variety of advanced and surface-enhanced spectroscopic techniques, and both thermal and electrochemical methods for a range of inorganic systems.