NSF GRFP recipient to develop viable fuels from CO2

By Peter Murphy

The NSF GRFP awards three-year fellowships for graduate study in mathematical, physical, biological, engineering, and behavioral and social sciences. The fellowship carries a stipend of $37,000 per year plus tuition waivers and fees. Reilly’s project focuses on catalysts on the nanometer scale.

“I’ll study how using increasingly water-resistant quantum dots embedded into a metal-organic framework can improve the system’s effectiveness in humid conditions,” Reilly said.

CO2 is a byproduct of burning fuel, and Reilly’s work examines CO2 as an untapped resource. Instead of releasing the greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, his system would capture it and convert it into fuel. The key pieces of this conversion, according to Reilly, are the metal-organic framework and quantum dots.

“The metal-organic framework is a lattice structure that captures CO2,” Reilly said. “The quantum dots provide energy to create methane and other chemicals, and the hydrophobic water-resistant molecules would keep the system stable in humid conditions.”

Reilly worked extensively with quantum dots alongside his research mentor, Karoline García-Pedraza, PhD student in chemistry, in the laboratory group of David F. Watson, professor in UB’s Department of Chemistry. Reilly’s work modifying quantum dots served as a catalyst for his NSF GRFP project — specifically, it led him to consider using the surface chemistry of quantum dots to influence the water stability of the whole system.

This fall, Reilly begins his PhD program in chemical engineering at Columbia University. He hopes that the work associated with this NSF GRFP project will make him a stronger scientist, but he is also hopeful his work could provide a path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while creating fuel.

“The end goal would be to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and make carbon-neutral fuels and chemicals that are typically derived from petroleum,” Reilly said.

Last year, Reilly received the Barry Goldwater Scholarship, the country’s most prestigious and competitive research scholarship offered to undergraduate STEM students. His Goldwater research also focused on addressing climate change. Reilly’s appreciation for the environment and spending time outdoors has inspired his broader research focus.

“Most of my interest in clean fuel and economically viable CO2 use comes from my life of camping in the Adirondacks of New York State and U.S. National Parks. I have been camping up there all my life, and I would love to make some small contribution to the future of such places,” Reilly said.

One UB student received honorable mention for the NSF GRFP as well: Gabby Inserra, who is pursuing an MS in Computational Cell Biology, Anatomy and Pathology.