Luo Lab

Check out our new paper on Electrochemical Trifluoromethylchlorosulfonylation of Alkenes via Copper‐Mediated SO2Cl Radical Transfer @AdvSynthCatal in collaboration with @Sanford_Lab
advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
@utahchemistry.bsky.social @NSF_CSOE

In situ environmental TEM analysis reveals the hydrogen insertion initiated at the GB sites, further supported by DFT results. Great teamwork @utahchemistry.bsky.social PNNL and Argonne! Congrats to all the authors! Thanks, Department of Energy, for funding support!

Σ3(111) Grain Boundaries Accelerate Hydrogen Insertion into Palladium Nanostructures Grain boundaries (GBs) are frequently implicated as key defect structures facilitating metal hydride formation, yet their specific role remains poorly understood due to their structural complexity. He...

New Nano Letters paper online! We studied the #hydrogen insertion into Pd nanostructures enriched with well-defined Σ3(111) #GrainBoundaries. PdGB exhibits dramatically accelerated hydriding and dehydriding kinetics compared with Pd nanoparticles! pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Congratulations to the recipients of this year's Distinguished Alumni Award, Dr. Hyung Kyu Shin, Dr. Michael Hunnicutt, and Dr. Sally Hunnicutt!

Read more about the event and each of our awardees:

www.chemistry.utah.edu/awards/2025-...

We addressed this issue by continuously regenerating defective Ag under AC electrolysis to prevent catalyst deactivation and control the formation of reactive chemical species, achieving the selective and continuous electrosynthesis of aminopyralid for over 50 days.

The loss of selectivity is caused by both the structural evolution of the Ag catalyst, as characterized by #4D-STEM, and the in situ formation of reactive species (ClO–, NH3, and NO2–).

Dehalogenation is a critical process in the chemical industry but still faces challenges, including catalyst deactivation, low product selectivity, and limited operational stability. An example is the synthesis of aminopyralid (2) via #echem dechlorination of picloram (1).

Electrosynthesis of Agrochemicals via Alternating-Current-Driven Selective, Continuous Dehalogenation Dehalogenation is a critical transformation in chemical synthesis but remains limited by catalyst deactivation and low selectivity in industrial processes. Here, we report an alternating current (AC) ...

Check out our new @jacs.acspublications.org paper on #Electrosynthesis of Agrochemicals via #AC-Driven Selective, Continuous Dehalogenation @utahchemistry.bsky.social ! Great
@nsf-csoe.bsky.social Teamwork and collaboration with @yaoyang-cornell.bsky.social and PNNL!

pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Celebrate our three @jacs.acspublications.org papers in a row with the awesome group members @utahchemistry.bsky.social ! The third one will be online soon. Stay tuned! #Pumping more great chemistry!

Our superstar graduate student @griffynsgro1.bsky.social
, and postdoc Mike Pence, are bringing automation to the quantitative analysis class @utahchemistry.bsky.social ! Thanks @rescorp.org @NSF for funding support! #modernize analytical chemistry labs!

Deciphering the Synchronization of Alternating Current Frequency with the Nickel Catalytic Cycle in Selective C–N Cross-Coupling Alternating current (AC) electrolysis offers a promising strategy for modulating redox states in metal-catalyzed reactions, yet its mechanistic basis remains poorly understood. Here, we uncover how AC...

New Publication Alert! 🚨Thrilled to share our latest work in @jacs.acspublications.org We answered the question about how to synchronize #AC electrolysis with a #Ni catalytic cycle to achieve selective C-N coupling over C-C coupling!

pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....

Molecular structures made from crocheting yarn (like this caffeine structure) were on display at the Chemistry Crochet Social Hour sponsored by the NSF Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry, where attendees had a chance to make their own creations.

Poster presentations take place throughout the entire conference, with many conference attendees stopping by between sessions.

Conference attendees pass through the main entrance of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center to get to their next activity.

Conference attendees casually chat and play a game of giant Jenga.

Molecular structures made from crocheting yarn were on display at the Chemistry Crochet Social Hour sponsored by the @nsf-csoe.bsky.social, where attendees had a chance to make their own creations. cen.acs.org/acs-news/acs...

#ACSFall2025 #chemsky

Apply to us!

A FUN EVENT!

Congrats Mike! A true rising star in electrochemistry!

Great collaboration with the White Group @utahchemistry.bsky.social @nsf-csoe.bsky.social ! Thanks the funding support from @NIH and @NSF!

The selectivicty arises from binning the products by time duration during AC electrolysis. At short times, the 1st step is fast than the 2nd step due to fast kinetics and sufficient supply of reactant. At long times, the 2nd catches up with the 1st due to concentration change.

The key take-home message is when the potential difference at the foot of the wave between 1-->2 and 2--->3 is larger than 80 mV, AC electrolysis can achieve selectivity toward 2.

Origin of Selectivity in Alternating Current-Enabled Partial Reduction of (Hetero)Arenes: A Case Study of Two Consecutive Irreversible Electrochemical Steps Herein, we investigate the origin of selectivity in the alternating current (AC)-enabled partial reduction of (hetero)arenes to cyclic alkenes. Reduction of (hetero)arenes can be considered as a reaction involving two consecutive irreversible electrochemical steps: the first generates the desired cyclic alkene, while the second leads to its undesired overreduction. Conventional constant current or voltage (DC) electrolysis results in poor selectivity toward the partial reduction products, originating from overreduction and base-induced decomposition of the desired product. Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry shows that the rate constant for the first reduction (k1) exceeds that of the second one (k2). Finite element simulations based on this experimental finding semiquantitatively capture the frequency-dependent selectivity observed in AC electrolysis experiments (i.e., increasing the AC frequency enhances selectivity). The results further reveal that AC electrolysis mitigates the low selectivity by only collecting the products at the initial stage of the reduction reaction, which is mostly under a kinetically controlled regime. We then extend the finite element model and introduce ΔEFOW, the foot-of-the-wave potential difference between cyclic voltammograms of substrate and partial reduction product, as an accessible proxy for k2/k1. A ΔEFOW > 80 mV predicts synthetically useful selectivity (>30%) toward the partial reduction product below 100 Hz.

Check out our new work published @J_A_C_S ! We answer the question, "How to control the product selectivity in a reaction consisting of two consecutive irreversible echem steps by #AC electrolysis?" pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

Thanks @rescorp.org for the support and look forward to working with Jim and Glen! @utahchemistry.bsky.social

Welcome @griffynsgro1.bsky.social and @mitch-horn.bsky.social from @waynestatechem.bsky.social to @utahchemistry.bsky.social for summer research!

And having dinner the legendary Profs. Joel Harris and Henry White @utahchemistry.bsky.social !

Great seminar by @hangren.bsky.social from @utaustin.bsky.social ! Thanks for visiting us!

It is my great honor to receive the Pittcon Achievement Award! Thanks to all the current and former students for their hard work @waynestatechem.bsky.social @utahchemistry.bsky.social ! Also, thanks to
@minteerlab.bsky.social , TD, Siegi, and Lane @bakergrp.bsky.social for the continued support!

A great electrochemistry minisynposium today @utahchemistry.bsky.social with Prof. TD Chung from Seoul National U and the White and @minteerlab.bsky.social !

Pittcon 2025: Long Luo Discusses His Laboratory’s Tetrahedron Approach At Pittcon 2025, Long Luo of the University of Utah sat down with LCGC International to discuss his laboratory's tetrahedron approach to their research.

Thanks, @LC_GC @Pittcon, for highlighting our work
@utahchemistry.bsky.social! Great discussion during the interview!
Pittcon 2025: Long Luo Discusses His Laboratory’s Tetrahedron Approach chromatographyonline.com/view/pittcon... via
@LC_GC

Researchers working on #advanced #materials for #sensing, do not miss this opportunity to attend a focused session, “Symposium on Advances in Gas Sensing Material Development (#ANA004),” at #Pacifichem 2025. Abstracts are accepted until April 2.

pacifichem.org/scientific-p...

Challenges in PFAS Postdegradation Analysis: Insights from the PFAS-CTAB Model System Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals widely used for their oil and water-repellent properties. Their environmental persistence and potential health risks have raised significant concerns. As PFAS degrades through remediation or natural processes, they form complex mixtures of the original chemicals, transformation byproducts, and degradation additives. Analyzing PFAS after degradation presents analytical challenges due to possible chemical and physical interactions, including ion pairing, micelle formation, and complexation. These factors can significantly impact the precision and accuracy of PFAS measurements, yet they are often overlooked in PFAS degradation studies. In this work, we demonstrate that with the addition of ppb-level cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a cationic surfactant used in PFAS plasma-based degradation, the PFAS calibration curve linearity, sensitivity, and reproducibility are severely compromised. Isotopically labeled internal standards cannot fully correct these issues. Furthermore, the standard EPA methods 537.1, 533, and 1633 could not accurately recover PFAS concentrations in the PFAS and CTAB mixtures, with severe matrix effects observed for longer-chain and nitrogen-containing PFAS. Among these methods, Method 1633 is currently the most suitable option for postdegradation analysis. Method 1633 showed the lowest CTAB interference because this method used another weak ion pair additive, formic acid or acetic acid (in commercial lab analysis), to acidify the sample before LC–MS/MS analysis and added an isotopically labeled internal standard. For future PFAS degradation studies, we recommend systematically evaluating the matrix effect on the PFAS quantification using a recovery matrix to validate the analytical methods before use.

The third paper of 2025: Challenges in #PFAS Postdegradation Analysis: Insights from the PFAS-CTAB Model System at ACS Meas. Sci. Au @UtahChemistry @waynestatechem.bsky.social ! We discuss the interference of CTAB on the PFAS quantification and the possible solutions.
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/...

YouTube video by The Luo Lab at Utah Electrochemical filtration of gadolinium based contrast agents to recycle gadolinium

Here are the @googleyoutube.bsky.social instructions for the key experiments in this paper.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-tG...

Electrochemical Filtration of Gadolinium from Patient Urine after Magnetic Resonance Imaging The widespread use of gadolinium-based contrast agents for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in recent decades has led to a growing demand for Gd and raised environmental concerns due to their direct d...

The second paper of 2025: Electrochemical Filtration of Gadolinium from Patient Urine after Magnetic Resonance Imaging @UtahChemistry! Great collaboration with
@mattallen12345.bsky.social @waynestatechem.bsky.social
! Check it out:
pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10....