Industrial fuels and chemicals depend on catalysts to guide reactions efficiently. Yet many catalysts quietly change structure once reactions begin, undermining performance and increasing energy use.
Madelyn Ball, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University, studies how catalytic surfaces change while reactions are actually taking place. Her Catalyst Design Lab focuses on forming catalytic materials for fuel and chemical production that support carbon recycling and reduce waste, giving industry practical tools to lower net emissions.
Ball’s lab studies catalysts with known starting structures, then follows how they change during real reactions. This approach allows her team to watch how molecules bind, react, and reorganize catalyst surfaces in real time. By linking these structural changes to performance, her research reveals why certain catalysts perform better than others.
Across projects ranging from carbon dioxide conversion to catalytic membranes for methane and nitrogen activation, Ball’s work targets a central challenge in chemical manufacturing: namely, how to produce essential fuels and chemicals using less energy, fewer raw materials, and more stable catalysts.
By replacing trial and error with structure-based understanding, her research enables cleaner, more efficient pathways for producing fuels and chemicals by uncovering how catalysts behave under real operating conditions. Better catalysts reduce emissions, conserve energy, extend material life, and advance more sustainable industrial chemistry.
To explore Ball’s work in more depth, visit:
Gadolinium-Modified Nickel Catalysts for Enhanced CO2 Methanation [Article]
Investigation of titania and ceria support effects in nickel catalyzed CO2 methanation [Article]
Expanding the toolbox for development of metal-based dual-functional catalytic membranes [Article]
Catalyst Design Lab [Website]
MSU College of Engineering Media and Public Relations page
