Staff information

Biography

Aaron Appel is an organometallic chemist with a focus on basic energy research related to the production and use of fuels through catalysis and electrocatalysis. He has recently begun working in the Center for Molecular Electrocatalysis, an Energy Frontier Research Center. Dr. Appel's work on this project focuses primarily upon electrocatalytic hydrogen production and oxidation and the thermochemistry of M-H bonds. Primary areas of expertise are in synthetic chemistry, electrochemistry, small molecule spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry.

Dr. Appel also has a background in CO2 capture research, particularly in developing new methods with higher energy efficiency. One current project is focused on developing new CO2 carriers for electrochemically switchable CO2 capture, which are capable of substantially improved energy efficiency in comparison to traditional thermal processes.

Research Interests

• Electrochemistry: Utilization of electrochemistry for the conversion of electrical energy to chemical energy through electrocatalysis. Controlled substrate binding using electrochemical switching, including CO2 capture and concentration. Hydrogen production and utilization and CO2 capture, concentration, and conversion are all of primary interest.
• Fundamental thermodynamic studies of bond strengths: Determination of bond strengths using thermodynamic cycles through the study of equilibria and electrochemical processes, particularly as related to catalysis.
• Synthetic inorganic and organometallic chemistry: Synthesis of relevant species to catalysis and electrocatalysis, particularly for fuel production and utilization. Characterization of synthetic species by electrochemistry, mass spectrometry, NMR, EPR, and other applicable techniques.

Education and Credentials

• B.S. in Chemistry from Washington State University, Pullman
• Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from University of Colorado, Boulder

Affiliations and Professional Service

• American Chemical Society

PNNL Publications

2009

• Appel AM, SJ Lee, JA Franz, DL DuBois, and M Rakowski DuBois. 2009. "Free Energy Landscapes for S-H Bonds in (Cp2Mo2S4)-Mo-star Complexes." Journal of the American Chemical Society 131(14):5224-5232.  doi:10.1021/ja8093179
• Appel AM, SJ Lee, JA Franz, DL DuBois, M Rakowski DuBois, and B Twamley. 2009. "Determination of S-H Bond Strengths in Dimolybdenum Tetrasulfide Complexes." Organometallics 28(3):749-754. 

2008

• Appel AM, SJ Lee, JA Franz, DL DuBois, M Rakowski DuBois, JC Birnbaum, and B Twamley. 2008. "Formation and Reactivity of a Persistent Radical in a Dinuclear Molybdenum Complex." Journal of the American Chemical Society 130(28):8940-8951.  doi:10.1021/ja078115r

2007

• Fraze K, A Wilson, AM Appel, M Rakowski DuBois, and DL DuBois. 2007. "Thermodynamic Properties of the Ni-H Bond in Complexes of the Type [HNi(P2RN2R')2](BF4) and Evaluation of Factors that Control Catalytic Activity for Hydrogen Oxidation/Production." Organometallics 26(16):3918-3924.  doi:10.1021/om070143v