Aicheng Chen, professor of chemistry at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ont. and a Canada Research Chair in Materials & Environmental Chemistry, is winner of the 2013 Canadian Catalysis Lectureship Award from the Canadian Catalysis Foundation. Chen has made significant contributions to electrocatalysis and photocatalysis. He has also developed a facile approach for the direct growth of Pd-based nanomaterials, showing high capacity for hydrogen storage. The nanoporous Pt-based networks developed by his group possess a high active surface area and exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity for fuel cell applications and electrochemical sensor development. Most recently, Chen developed a novel bi-functional electrode technology, which integrates electrochemical oxidation and photochemical degradation for water purification.
