Prof. David Eisenberg

Schulich Faculty of Chemistry, the Grand Technion Energy Program, and the Resnick Sustainability Center for Catalysis, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel

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Enzymes have many lessons for the fields of materials science and catalysis. Enzymatic catalysis relies strongly on precisely designed catalytic pockets around the active site: its shape and chemical composition have a dramatic effect on the catalytic activity. But how can one implement such design principles in electrochemical energy conversion, driven by heterogeneous solid (electro)catalysts?
Our group designs electrocatalytic materials, from porous carbons to metal hydroxides, which mimic fundamental design principles found in enzymes. We focus on conversions in the nitrogen cycle (N2 ⇌ N-based fuel), whose broad range of oxidation states offers a rich and complex playground for energy research.
In this talk, I will present our insights into the role of pore confinement on energy storage,[1] the design of heme-inspired FeNC electrocatalysts with multi-doped or twisted FeN2+2 active sites,[2,3] and a unique breakthrough into the long-term stabilization of meta-stable catalytic phases of Ni(OH)2 , achieved thanks to nanometric design of the catalytic pocket. These stories combine to show how fundamental questions in electrochemistry drive (and are enriched by) the practical design of energy conversion devices.[4]

[1]    E. M. Farber, N. M. Seraphim, K. Tamakuwala, A. Stein, M. Rücker, D. Eisenberg, “Porous materials: The next frontier in energy technologies” Science 2025, 390, eadn9391.
[2]    K. Ojha, E. M. Farber, T. Y. Burshtein, D. Eisenberg, “A Multi-Doped Electrocatalyst for Efficient Hydrazine Oxidation” Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2018, 57, 17168–17172.
[3]    I. Offen-Polak, N. R. Samala, T. Y. Burshtein, S. M. Zahan, S. Xiang, Y. Shahaf, C. Studnik, L. Ni, M. U. Delgado-Jaime, U. Kramm, D. R. Dekel, C. Vogt, A. I. Frenkel, I. Grinberg, D. Eisenberg, “A Biomimetic Twisting Strategy Enables Efficient Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Energy-Dense Hydrazine Hydrate on FeN2+2C4+4 Sites” J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2025, 147, 31731–31740.
[4]    T. Y. Burshtein, Y. Yasman, L. Muñoz-Moene, J. H. Zagal, D. Eisenberg, “Hydrazine Oxidation Electrocatalysis” ACS Catal. 2024, 14, 2264–2283.