Dr James Carter

Postdoctoral Research Associate (with Prof Graham Hutchings)

School of Chemistry

: carterj5@cardiff.ac.uk
: +44 (0)29 2087 7642

I supervise and carry out research in heterogeneous catalysis. My current research portfolio includes the synthesis, characterisation and understanding of novel heterogeneous catalysts for various applications including: sustainable manufacturing, environmental catalysis and carbon-free energy.

I am interested in academic research that concerns the fundamental chemistry of catalysis as well collaborations with industrial partners to develop solutions to commercial challenges.

Education and qualifications

2015: PhD Heterogeneous Catalysis, Cardiff University
2012: MSc Catalysis, Cardiff University
2011: BSc Chemistry, Cardiff University

Speaking engagements and awards

Europacat, Aachen (2019)
National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Boston (2018)
UK Catalysis Conference (2018)
International Conference on Gold Chemistry (2018)
National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Francisco (2017)
Europacat, Florence (2017)
Peter Williams Memorial Prize (2016)
UK Catalysis Conference (2016)

Editorial activities

Review Editor: Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry
Reviewer/Referee: Journal of the American Chemical Society, Nature Communications, ACS Catalysis, Journal of Catalysis, Catalysts, C, Journal of CO2 Utilisation, Catalysis Reviews, Topics in Catalysis, Inorganics

2024

Potter, M. E. et al. 2024. Combining computational and experimental studies to gain mechanistic insights for n -butane isomerisation with a model microporous catalyst. Catalysis Science & Technology (10.1039/d4cy01035c)
Carter, J. H. et al. 2024. Origin of carbon monoxide formation in the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane using carbon dioxide. ACS Catalysis 14(15), pp. 11881-11892. (10.1021/acscatal.4c02628)
Parker, L. A. et al. 2024. Investigating periodic table interpolation for the rational design of nanoalloy catalysts for green hydrogen production from ammonia decomposition. Catalysis Letters 154, pp. 1958-1969. (10.1007/s10562-023-04446-4)
Li, X. et al. 2024. Propane dehydrogenation using platinum supported on gallium-doped silica. Catalysis Letters 154, pp. 634-642. (10.1007/s10562-023-04328-9)

2023

Zhou, D. et al. 2023. Atmospheric gas and heating transmission electron microscopy with water vapor control. Microscopy and Microanalysis 29(Supple), pp. 1591-1592. (10.1093/micmic/ozad067.818)
Li, X. et al. 2023. Hydrogenolysis of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural by in situ produced hydrogen from water on an iron catalyst. Catalysis Science & Technology 13(11), pp. 3366-3374. (10.1039/D3CY00027C)

2022

Carter, J. H. et al. 2022. Reversible growth of gold nanoparticles in the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction. ACS Nano 16, pp. 15197-15205. (10.1021/acsnano.2c06504)
Lewis, R. J. et al. 2022. N-heterocyclic carbene modified palladium catalysts for the direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide. Journal of the American Chemical Society 144(34), pp. 15431-15436. (10.1021/jacs.2c04828)
Taylor, S., Carter, J., Dummer, N., Nasrallah, A., Willock, D. and Hutchings, G. 2022. Selective oxidation of methane to oxygenates using heterogeneous catalysts. In: Li, L. and Hargreaves, J. eds. Heterogeneous Catalysis for Sustainable Energy. Weinheim: Wiley, pp. 183-203.
Chen, B. et al. 2022. The reaction pathways of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural conversion in a continuous flow reactor using copper catalysts. Catalysis Science & Technology 12(9), pp. 3016-3027. (10.1039/D1CY02197D)
Ye, T., Carter, J. H., Chen, B., Li, X., Ye, Y., Taylor, S. H. and Hutchings, G. J. 2022. Iron-chromium mixed metal oxides catalyse the oxidative dehydrogenation of propane using carbon dioxide. Catalysis Communications 162, article number: 106383. (10.1016/j.catcom.2021.106383)
Richards, N. et al. 2022. Effect of the preparation method of LaSrCoFeOx perovskites on the activity of N2O decomposition. Catalysis Letters 152, pp. 213-226. (10.1007/s10562-021-03619-3)

2021

Carter, J. et al. 2021. Direct and oxidative dehydrogenation of propane: From catalyst design to industrial application. Green Chemistry 23(24), pp. 9747-9799. (10.1039/D1GC03700E)

2020

Parker, L. A., Carter, J. H., Dummer, N. F., Richards, N., Morgan, D. J., Golunski, S. E. and Hutchings, G. J. 2020. Ammonia decomposition enhancement by Cs-Promoted Fe/Al2O3 catalysts. Catalysis Letters 150, pp. 3369-3376. (10.1007/s10562-020-03247-3)
Richards, N. et al. 2020. Structure-sensitivity of alumina supported palladium catalysts for N2O decomposition. Applied Catalysis B: Environmental 264, article number: 118501. (10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.118501)
Richards, N. et al. 2020. Lowering the operating temperature of perovskite catalysts for N2O decomposition through control of preparation methods. ACS Catalysis 10(10), pp. 5430-5442. (10.1021/acscatal.0c00698)
Evans, C. D. et al. 2020. Enhancing the understanding of the glycerol to lactic acid reaction mechanism over AuPt/TiO2 under alkaline conditions. Journal of Chemical Physics 152(13), article number: 134705. (10.1063/1.5128595)
Bemmer, V. et al. 2020. Rationalization of the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of aluminium phosphates synthesized from different precursors. RSC Advances 10(14), pp. 84448452. (10.1039/C9RA08738A)
Jarvis, J. et al. 2020. Inhibiting the dealkylation of basic arenes during n-alkane direct aromatization reactions and understanding the C6 ring closure mechanism. ACS Catalysis 10, pp. 8428-8443. (10.1021/acscatal.0c02361)

2019

Dai, X. et al. 2019. Efficient elimination of chlorinated organics on a phosphoric acid modified CeO2 catalyst: a hydrolytic destruction route. Environmental Science and Technology 53(21), pp. 12697-12705. (10.1021/acs.est.9b05088)
Carter, J. H., Shah, P. M., Nowicka, E., Freakley, S. J., Morgan, D., Golunski, S. and Hutchings, G. J. 2019. Enhanced activity and stability of Gold/Ceria-Titania for the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction. Frontiers in Chemistry 7, article number: 443. (10.3389/fchem.2019.00443)

2018

Carter, J. H. and Hutchings, G. J. 2018. Recent advances in the gold-catalysed low-temperature water-gas shift reaction. Catalysts 8(12), pp. 627-627. (10.3390/catal8120627)
Kanitkar, S., Carter, J. H., Hutchings, G. J., Ding, K. and Spivey, J. J. 2018. Low temperature direct conversion of methane using a solid superacid. ChemCatChem 10(21), pp. 5033-5038. (10.1002/cctc.201801310)
Richards, N., Nowicka, E., Carter, J. H., Morgan, D. J., Dummer, N. F., Golunski, S. and Hutchings, G. J. 2018. Investigating the influence of Fe speciation on N2O decomposition over Fe–ZSM-5 catalysts. Topics in Catalysis 61(18-19), pp. 1983-1992. (10.1007/s11244-018-1024-0)
Chow, Y. K. et al. 2018. A kinetic study of methane partial oxidation over FeZSM-5 using N2O as an oxidant. ChemPhysChem 19(4), pp. 402-411. (10.1002/cphc.201701202)
Williams, C. et al. 2018. Selective oxidation of methane to methanol using supported AuPd catalysts prepared by stabilizer-free sol-immobilization. ACS Catalysis, pp. 2567-2576. (10.1021/acscatal.7b04417)
Chow, Y. K. et al. 2018. Investigating the influence of acid sites in continuous methane oxidation with N2O over Fe/MFI zeolites. Catalysis Science and Technology 2018(8), pp. 154-163. (10.1039/C7CY01769C)

2017

Hutchings, G. J. et al. 2017. New insights into the activation and deactivation of Au/CeZrO4 in the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 56(50), pp. 16037-16041. (10.1002/anie.201709708)
Smith, P. J. et al. 2017. Supercritical antisolvent precipitation of amorphous copper–zinc georgeite and acetate precursors for the preparation of ambient‐pressure water‐gas‐shift copper/zinc oxide catalysts. ChemCatChem 9(9), pp. 1621-1631. (10.1002/cctc.201601603)
Kondrat, S. A. et al. 2017. The effect of sodium species on methanol synthesis and water-gas shift Cu/ZnO catalysts: utilising high purity zincian georgeite. Faraday Discussions 197, pp. 287-307. (10.1039/C6FD00202A)

2016

Carter, J. et al. 2016. Synergy and anti-synergy between palladium and gold in nanoparticles dispersed on a reducible support. ACS Catalysis 6(10), pp. 6623-6633. (10.1021/acscatal.6b01275)
Kondrat, S. A. et al. 2016. Stable amorphous georgeite as a precursor to a high-activity catalyst .. Nature 531, pp. 83-87. (10.1038/nature16935)
Carter, J. 2016. Gold catalysts for the low-temperature water-gas shift reaction. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University.

CHT219 Preparation and Evaluation of Heterogeneous Catalysts

Recent notable projects include:

After the goldrush (European Research Council), 2013 - 2018

Devloping robust gold nanoparticle catalysts for hydrogen production (water-gas shift)
Catalytic remediation of greenhouse gases ie. N₂O
Developing supported nanoparicle catalysts for hydrogen production (NH₃ dissociation)

The valorisation of methane to higher value compounds (Exxon Mobil), 2016 - 2018

Liquid-phase methane to methanol using supported AuPd catalysts
Gas-phase transformation of methane to methanol using Fe-ZSM-5 catalysts with N₂O

The development of heterogeneous catalysts for industrial applications (Total) 2017 - present

Catalytic abatement of VOCs produced during the manufacture of polymers (Colormatrix) 2018 - present

Past projects