Simon Podkolzin

Chemical kinetics and reaction mechanisms on catalytic surfaces

Research in the Catalytic Nanoparticles Lab focuses on reaction mechanism studies on surfaces of solid catalysts for petroleum refining, chemical, pharmaceutical and related industries. The scale gap between observable reaction rates and catalytic surface reactions on the molecular level is bridged through iterative cycles of experimental catalyst characterization and testing in combination with quantum chemical calculations. Experimental information establishes the basis for the selection of models and the level of theory for quantum chemical calculations and then, in turn, computational results help to deconvolute and better interpret experimental data. In contrast with traditional catalyst models that assume a static surface, our approach of combining kinetic studies, IR and Raman spectroscopic measurements and quantum chemical calculations with vibrational analyses allows us to develop new methodologies for describing dynamic catalytic surface changes under reaction conditions and, consequently, for a transformational improvement in the description, control and further development of catalytic processes.

2009-Present Associate Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, New Jersey.

2002-2008 Senior Research Engineer, Core Research and Development, The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan.

1991-1995 Research Engineer, UOP, Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom and Des Plaines, Illinois, United States.

Institutional Service

- CEMS Ph.D. Qualifying Examination Committee Member.

- CEMS Undergraduate Curriculum Committee Member.

- CEMS Research Committee Member.

- Undergraduate and Graduate Program Student Advising.

- Summer Research Undergraduate Student Advising.

- Ph.D. Thesis Advising.

- Ph.D. Dissertation Committee Member.

- School of Engineering and Science Faculty Advisory Council Member.

- Stevens Institute Intellectual Property Committee Member.

- University Faculty Senate Member.

Professional Societies

ACS – American Chemical Society Member.

CSNY – Catalysis Society of Metropolitan New York Member.

NACS – North American Catalysis Society Member.


Professional Service

Research Advisor for Project SEED by the American Chemical Society.


Served as a Technical Expert Reviewer and as a Research Funding Panelist for:

- U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E).

- U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED).

- National Science Foundation, Division of Chemistry (NSF-CHE).

- National Science Foundation, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (NSF-CBET).

- National Science Foundation, Division of Materials Research, Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (NSF-DMREF).

- American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund.

- Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

- ETH Zurich Research Commission, Switzerland.


Serve as a regular Peer Reviewer for the following scientific journals:

- ACS Catalysis,
- ACS Nano,
- Angewandte Chemie,
- Applied Catalysis,
- Applied Surface Science,
- Catalysis Communications,
- Catalysis Letters,
- Catalysis Today,
- Chemical Communications,
- Chemical Engineering Journal,
- Chemistry of Materials,
- Fuel (Elsevier),
- Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research,
- Journal of Catalysis,
- Journal of Physical Chemistry,
- Journal of the American Chemical Society,
- Langmuir, Microporous & Mesoporous Materials,
- Nature Catalysis,
- Nature Communications.
- Science.

Simon G. Podkolzin, Tao Chen, Yiteng Zheng, Muye Yang, Sunitha R. Tadepalli, Geatesh K. Tampy, John P. Cherkauskas. "Palladium Catalysts Supported on Carbon for Hydrogenation of Aromatic Hydrocarbons", 2020 United States Patent Application US20200001274 A1, https://patents.google.com/patent/US20200001274A1

Eric E. Stangland, Daniel A. Hickman; Mark E. Jones; Simon G. Podkolzin; Shawn D. Feist. “Process and System for Production of Dichlorine”. 2011 United States Patent Application 20110268648 A1, https://patents.google.com/patent/US20150321915A1/en?inventor=Simon+Podkolzin&oq=Simon+Podkolzin

Robert G. Bowman, Eric E. Stangland, Mark E. Jones, Dean M. Millar, Simon G. Podkolzin, Brien A. Stears, Richard M. Wehmeyer. “Oxidative Mono-Halogenation of Methane”, 2011 United States Patent Application 20110201841 A1. https://patents.google.com/patent/US8674149B2/en?inventor=Simon+Podkolzin&oq=Simon+Podkolzin

Simon G. Podkolzin, Eric E. Stangland, Albert E. Schweizer, Mark E. Jones. “Oxidative Halogenation of C1 Hydrocarbons to Halogenated C1 Hydrocarbons ”. 2008 United States Patent Application 20080275279 A1. https://patents.google.com/patent/EP1879840B1/en?inventor=Simon+Podkolzin&oq=Simon+Podkolzin

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=dyNhX6IAAAAJ&view_op=list_works&sortby=pubdate

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9536-7176

ResearcherID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/M-3313-2013

Ezeonu, L.; Tang, Z.; Qi, Y.; Huo, F.; Zheng, Y.; Koel, B. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Adsorption, Surface Reactions and Hydrodeoxygenation of Acetic Acid on Platinum and Nickel Catalysts. Journal of Catalysis 2023, 418, 190-202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2023.01.013

Mai, A.; Hadnagy, E.; Shi, Q.; Ezeonu, L.; Robbins, J. P.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Koutsospyros, A.; Christodoulatos, C., Degradation and Fate of 2,4-Dinitroanisole (DNAN) and Its Intermediates Treated with Mg/Cu Bimetal: Surface Examination with XAS, DFT, and LDI-MS. Journal of Environmental Sciences 2023, 129, 161-173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jes.2022.09.007

Zheng, Y.; Qi, Y.; Tang, Z.; Tan, J.; Koel, B. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Spectroscopic observation and structure-insensitivity of hydroxyls on gold. Chemical Communications 2022, 58 (25), 4036-4039. http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/D2CC00283C

Zheng, Y.; Qi, Y.; Tang, Z.; Hanke, F.; Podkolzin, S. G., Kinetics and Reaction Mechanisms of Acetic Acid Hydrodeoxygenation over Pt and Pt–Mo Catalysts. ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 2022, 10 (16), 5212-5224. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c00179

Robbins, J. P.; Ezeonu, L.; Tang, Z.; Yang, X.; Koel, B. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Propane Dehydrogenation to Propylene and Propylene Adsorption on Ni and Ni‐Sn Catalysts. ChemCatChem 2022, 14 (6), e202101546. https://doi.org/10.1002/cctc.202101546

Tang, Z.; Chen, T.; Liu, K.; Du, H.; Podkolzin, S. G., Atomic, Molecular and Hybrid Oxygen Structures on Silver. Langmuir 2021, 37, 11603-11610. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.1c01941

Zheng, Y.; Tang, Z.; Podkolzin, S. G., Catalytic Platinum Nanoparticles Decorated with Subnanometer Molybdenum Clusters for Biomass Processing. Chemistry – A European Journal 2020, 26, 5174-5179. https://doi.org/10.1002/chem.202000139

Yang, Y.; Robbins, J. P.; Ezeonu, L.; Ma, Y.; Sparta, N.; Kong, X.; Strauf, S.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Lee, S. S., Probing Lattice Vibrations of Stabilized CsPbI₃ Polymorphs Via Low-Frequency Raman Spectroscopy. Journal of Materials Chemistry C 2020, 8, 8896-8903. https://doi.org/10.1039/D0TC02123G

Jin, Y.; Zheng, Y.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Lee, W., Band Gap of Reduced Graphene Oxide Tuned by Controlling Functional Groups. Journal of Materials Chemistry C 2020, 8, 4885-4894. https://doi.org/10.1039/C9TC07063J

Hofman, M. S.; Scoullos, E. V.; Robbins, J. P.; Ezeonu, L.; Potapenko, D. V.; Yang, X.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Koel, B. E., Acetic Acid Adsorption and Reactions on Ni(110). Langmuir 2020, 36, 8705-8715. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c00713

Zheng, Y.; Tang, Y.; Gallagher, J. R.; Gao, J.; Miller, J. T.; Wachs, I. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Molybdenum Oxide, Oxycarbide, and Carbide: Controlling the Dynamic Composition, Size, and Catalytic Activity of Zeolite-Supported Nanostructures. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2019, 123, 22281-22292. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.9b05449

Scoullos, E. V.; Hofman, M. S.; Zheng, Y.; Potapenko, D. V.; Tang, Z.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Koel, B. E., Guaiacol Adsorption and Decomposition on Platinum. The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2018, 122, 29180-29189. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b06555

Liu, K.; Chen, T.; He, S.; Robbins, J. P.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Tian, F., Observation and Identification of an Atomic Oxygen Structure on Catalytic Gold Nanoparticles. Angewandte Chemie 2017, 129, 13132–13137. http://doi.org/10.1002/ange.201706647

Liu, K.; Chen, T.; He, S.; Robbins, J. P.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Tian, F., Observation and Identification of an Atomic Oxygen Structure on Catalytic Gold Nanoparticles. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2017, 56, 12952-12957. http://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201706647

Chen, T.; Kertalli, E.; Nijhuis, T. A.; Podkolzin, S. G., Effects of Hydrogen and Propylene Presence on Decomposition of Hydrogen Peroxide over Palladium Catalysts. Journal of Catalysis 2016, 341, 72-81. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2016.06.012

Gao, J.; Zheng, Y.; Tang, Y.; Jehng, J. M.; Grybos, R.; Handzlik, J.; Wachs, I. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Spectroscopic and Computational Study of Cr Oxide Structures and Their Anchoring Sites on ZSM-5 Zeolites. ACS Catalysis 2015, 5, 3078-3092. http://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.5b00333

Gao, J.; Zheng, Y.; Jehng, J. M.; Tang, Y.; Wachs, I. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Identification of Molybdenum Oxide Nanostructures on Zeolites for Natural Gas Conversion. Science 2015, 348, 686-690. http://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaa7048

Chen, T.; Pal, A.; Gao, J.; Han, Y.; Chen, H.; Sukhishvili, S.; Du, H.; Podkolzin, S. G., Identification of Vertical and Horizontal Configurations for BPE Adsorption on Silver Surfaces. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2015, 119, 24475–24488. http://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcc.5b07831

Senturk-Ozer, S.; Chen, T.; Degirmenbasi, N.; Gevgilili, H.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Kalyon, D. M., A Nanobursa Mesh: A Graded Electrospun Nanofiber Mesh with Metal Nanoparticles on Carbon Nanotubes. Nanoscale 2014, 6, 8527-8530. http://doi.org/10.1039/c4nr01145g

Gao, J.; Zheng, Y.; Fitzgerald, G. B.; de Joannis, J.; Tang, Y.; Wachs, I. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Structure of Mo₂C_x and Mo₄C_x Molybdenum Carbide Nanoparticles and Their Anchoring Sites on ZSM-5 Zeolites. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2014, 118, 4670-4679. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp4106053

Gao, J.; Zhao, H.; Yang, X.; Koel, B. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Geometric Requirements for Hydrocarbon Catalytic Sites on Platinum Surfaces. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2014, 53, 3641-3644. http://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201309043

Podkolzin, S. G.; Fitzgerald, G. B.; Koel, B., E., Combining Vibrational Spectroscopies with Quantum Chemical Calculations for Molecular-Level Understanding of Reaction Mechanisms on Catalytic Surfaces. In Applications of Molecular Modeling to Challenges in Clean Energy, American Chemical Society: 2013; Vol. 1133, pp 153-176. http://doi.org/10.1021/bk-2013-1133.ch009

Gao, J.; Zhao, H.; Yang, X.; Koel, B. E.; Podkolzin, S. G., Controlling Acetylene Adsorption and Reactions on Pt–Sn Catalytic Surfaces. ACS Catalysis 2013, 3, 1149-1153. http://doi.org/10.1021/cs400198f

Kim, J.; Welch, L. A.; Olivas, A.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Koel, B. E., Adsorption and Decomposition of Cyclohexanone (C₆H₁₀O) on Pt(111) and the (2 × 2) and (√3 × √3)R30°-Sn/Pt(111) Surface Alloys. Langmuir 2010, 26, 16401-16411. http://doi.org/10.1021/la102069a

Kim, J.; Fu, J.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Koel, B. E., Studies of Ethylene Oxide Adsorption on Pt-Sn Alloys with TPD, HREELS, UPS, and DFT Calculations. Journal of Physical Chemistry C 2010, 114, 17238-17247. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp1051485

Hickman, D. A.; Jones, M. E.; Jovanovic, Z. R.; Olken, M. M.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Stangland, E. E.; Thompson, R. K., Reactor Scale-up for Fluidized Bed Conversion of Ethane to Vinyl Chloride. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research 2010, 49, 10674-10681. https://doi.org/10.1021/ie100423z

van der Heijden, A. W. A. M.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Jones, M. E.; Bitter, J. H.; Weckhuysen, B. M., Catalytic Hydrogen-Chlorine Exchange between Chlorinated Hydrocarbons under Oxygen-Free Conditions. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition 2008, 47, 5002-5004. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.200800270

Podkolzin, S. G.; Stangland, E. E.; Jones, M. E.; Peringer, E.; Lercher, J. A., Methyl Chloride Production from Methane over Lanthanum-Based Catalysts. Journal of the American Chemical Society 2007, 129, 2569-2576. http://doi.org/10.1021/ja066913w

Peringer, E.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Jones, M. E.; Olindo, R.; Lercher, J. A., LaCl₃-Based Catalysts for Oxidative Chlorination of CH₄. Topics in Catalysis 2006, 38, 211-220. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11244-006-0085-7

Podkolzin, S. G.; Manoilova, O. V.; Weckhuysen, B. M., Relative Activity of La₂O₃, LaoCl, and LaCl₃ in Reaction with CCl₄ Studied with Infrared Spectroscopy and Density Functional Theory Calculations. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2005, 109, 11634-11642. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp050680y

Barton, D. G.; Podkolzin, S. G., Kinetic Study of a Direct Water Synthesis over Silica-Supported Gold Nanoparticles. Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2005, 109, 2262-2274. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp048837u

van der Avert, P.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Manoilova, O.; De Winne, H.; Weckhuysen, B. M., Low-Temperature Destruction of Carbon Tetrachloride over Lanthamide Oxide Based Catalysts: From Destructive Adsorption to a Catalytic Reaction Cycle. Chemistry - A European Journal 2004, 10, 1637-1646. http://doi.org/10.1002/chem.200305442

Podkolzin, S. G.; Alcalá, R.; Dumesic, J. A., Density Functional Theory Studies of Acetylene Hydrogenation on Clean, Vinylidene- and Ethylidyne-Covered Pt(1 1 1) Surfaces. Journal of Molecular Catalysis A: Chemical 2004, 218, 217-227. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.molcata.2004.04.015

Manoilova, O. V.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Tope, B.; Lercher, J.; Stangland, E. E.; Goupil, J.-M.; Weckhuysen, B. M., Surface Acidity and Basicity of La₂O₃, LaOCl, and LaCl₃ Characterized by IR Spectroscopy, TPD, and DFT Calculations. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2004, 108, 15770-15781. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp040311m

Podkolzin, S. G.; Alcala, R.; De Pablo, J. J.; Dumesic, J. A., Monte Carlo Simulations of Reaction Kinetics for Ethane Hydrogenolysis over Pt. Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2002, 106, 9604-9612. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp020345z

Podkolzin, S. G.; Watwe, R. M.; Yan, Q.; de Pablo, J. J.; Dumesic, J. A., DFT Calculations and Monte Carlo Simulations of the Co-Adsorption of Hydrogen Atoms and Ethylidyne Species on Pt(111). The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2001, 105, 8550-8562. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp0104076

Podkolzin, S. G.; Shen, J.; de Pablo, J. J.; Dumesic, J. A., Equilibrated Adsorption of CO on Silica-Supported Pt Catalysts. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B 2000, 104, 4169-4180. http://doi.org/10.1021/jp993833o

Shen, J.; Hill, J.; Watwe, R.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Dumesic, J. A., Ethylene Adsorption on Pt/Au/SiO₂ Catalysts. Catalysis Letters 1999, 60, 1-9. http://doi.org/10.1023/A%3A1019038503569

Natal-Santiago, M. A.; Podkolzin, S. G.; Cortright, R. D.; Dumesic, J. A., Microcalorimetric Studies of Interactions of Ethene, Isobutene, and Isobutane with Silica-Supported Pd, Pt, and PtSn. Catalysis Letters 1997, 45, 155-163. http://doi.org/10.1023/A%3A1019004720871


News Stories

2017 – 2017 – Graduate student travel awards for attending and presenting at the North American Catalysis Conference
https://www.stevens.edu/news/stevens-graduate-students-win-awards-research-catalysis

2017 – Graduate student research award at the annual conference of the Catalysis Society of Metropolitan New York
https://www.stevens.edu/news/stevens-graduate-student-wins-best-research-award-catalysis-conference

2017 – Discovery of a new oxygen-gold structure
https://personal.stevens.edu/~spodkolz/Oxygen-Gold_Discovery.htm

2015 – Publication in Science on natural gas conversion into liquid fuels and chemical feedstocks
https://www.stevens.edu/news/critical-catalytic-reaction-understood-molecular-level

CHE-345 Process Control, Modeling and Simulation

CHE-MT-CH-EN-NANO-555 Catalysis and Characterization of Nanoparticles http://www.podkolzin.com/Courses/555_Catalysis.htm

CHE-620/MT-603 Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics

CHE 707 Curricular Practical Training

CHE-800 Special Problem in Chemical Engineering

MT-800 Special Problem in Materials

CHE-960 Research in Chemical Engineering

MT-960 Research in Materials

Exploring Career Options in Engineering and Science (ECOES) - Chemical Engineering