BSc, PhD, MRSC
Senior Lecturer
- About
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- Email Address
- a.mccue@abdn.ac.uk
- Office Address
- School/Department
- School of Natural and Computing Sciences
Biography
I recieved both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the University of Aberdeen. I am heavily involved in the Department of Chemistry's undergraduate and postgraduate teaching and am the programme director our MSc in 'Chemistry for Sustainable Energy'. My research interests lie in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, with a particular emphasis on how activity and selectivity of hydrogenation catalysts (typically supported metals) can be manipulated by careful design. I also enjoy outreach work.
Qualifications
- BSc Chemistry2008 - University of Aberdeen
- PhD Chemistry2012 - University of Aberdeen
Memberships and Affiliations
- Internal Memberships
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Programme director - Chemistry for Sustainable Energy MSc
- External Memberships
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Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry
Latest Publications
The role of the activation heating source on the carbon capture performance of two new adsorbents produced from household-mixed-plastic waste
Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 89, 102950Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPaving the way to transfer hydrogenation of CO2 with bio-derived glycerol over Ni supported zeolite catalysts
Applied Catalysis A: General, vol. 687, 119971Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSpectroelectrochemical study of carbon structural and functionality characteristics on vanadium redox reactions for flow batteries
Materials Advances, vol. 5, no. 18, pp. 7170-7198Contributions to Journals: ArticlesNon-Oxidative Coupling of Methane via Plasma-Catalysis Over M/γ-Al2O3 Catalysts (M = Ni, Fe, Rh, Pt and Pd): Impact of Active Metal and Noble Gas Co-Feeding
Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 2057–2085Contributions to Journals: ArticlesUnlocking the Structure-Activity Relationship of Hierarchical MFI Zeolites Towards the Hydrocracking of HDPE
Fuel, vol. 379, 132990Contributions to Journals: Articles
- Research
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Research Overview
My principle research interests lie in the field of heterogeneous catalysis, with a particular emphasis on how activity and selectivity of hydrogenation catalysts (typically supported metals) can be manipulated by careful design. This can be achieved by a number of methods which include:
- Alloy formation and controlling surface composition
- Modifying surface properties by adsorption of organic ligands
- Incorporation of an inorganic element to change the structure (i.e., Pd + S)
Prepared catalysts can be characterised by a number of different techniques which range from routine (i.e., XRD, microscopy, physisorption or chemisorption) to more specialised (i.e., in-situ FTIR, temperature programmed methods and XAS). Catalyst performance is then evaluated by testing in either the liquid or gas phase at either ambient or elevated pressure/temperature. The most common reaction of interest is the selective hydrogenation of an alkyne to an alkene without over-hydrogenation to the alkane. This is a process of importance with regards to polymer production (i.e., polyethylene or polypropylene) and commodity chemicals in a number of areas. Other reactions of interest include CO2 hydrogenation and biomass utilisation.
Research Areas
Accepting PhDs
I am currently accepting PhDs in Chemistry.
Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your research ideas further.
Current Research
- Selective alkyne hydrogenation
- Development of CO2 hydrogenation catalysts
- Catalysts for biomass upgrading
- New and improved materials for gas separation
Funding and Grants
UKRI New Horizons - New route to zero carbon hydrogen (with Lancaster University as PI)
UK Catalysis Hub - Plasma-catalytic upgrading of biogas (with Dr Panos Kechagiopoulos as PI)
ScotChem - ATR for FTIR
UK Catalysis Hub - A supported molten-salt membrane reactor (with Newcastle University as PI & Glasgow University as CI)
Royal Society of Chemistry - Combining pulse chemisorption and FTIR into a single low-cost measurement
Carnegie Trust - Palladium sulphide as a hydrogenation catalyst
- Teaching
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Programmes
- Undergraduate, 4 year, September start
- Undergraduate, 5 year, September start
- Postgraduate, 3 semester, September start
Courses
Topic - Employability
Topic - Porous Materials
Topic - Porous Materials
Topic - Environmental Remediation
Topics - Flow Assurance, Catalysis, Natural Gas Chemistry
Topic - Catalysis
Topic - Employability
Topic - Utilising Biorenewable Resources
Topic - Hydrogen Generation & Liquid Storage
Topic - Renewable Chemical Production
Entire course - all aspects of Carbon Capture, Storage & Utilisation (CCSU)
Topic - Employability
Topic - Various lab experiments
Topic - Exploring sustainability within a business setting
Teaching Responsibilities
I currently coordinate our Chemistry for Sustainable Energy MSc. This programme gives students a high level understanding in the areas of electrochemical conversion devices (such as battery and fuel cell technology), carbon capture technologies and the hydrogen economy, amongst other topics.
- Publications
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The role of the activation heating source on the carbon capture performance of two new adsorbents produced from household-mixed-plastic waste
Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 89, 102950Contributions to Journals: ArticlesPaving the way to transfer hydrogenation of CO2 with bio-derived glycerol over Ni supported zeolite catalysts
Applied Catalysis A: General, vol. 687, 119971Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSpectroelectrochemical study of carbon structural and functionality characteristics on vanadium redox reactions for flow batteries
Materials Advances, vol. 5, no. 18, pp. 7170-7198Contributions to Journals: ArticlesNon-Oxidative Coupling of Methane via Plasma-Catalysis Over M/γ-Al2O3 Catalysts (M = Ni, Fe, Rh, Pt and Pd): Impact of Active Metal and Noble Gas Co-Feeding
Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 2057–2085Contributions to Journals: ArticlesUnlocking the Structure-Activity Relationship of Hierarchical MFI Zeolites Towards the Hydrocracking of HDPE
Fuel, vol. 379, 132990Contributions to Journals: ArticlesBiomass-derived materials for carbon capture: a review
Encyclopedia of Renewable Energy Engineering. ElsevierChapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: ChaptersTowards low-cost and sustainable activated carbon production: influence of microwave activation time on yield and CO2 uptake of PET-derived adsorbents
Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 83, 102807Contributions to Journals: ArticlesAdsorption of organic acids in oil on crushed marble at varying temperatures and ambient pressure
Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, vol. 686, 133231Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHousehold Mixed Plastic Waste Derived Adsorbents for CO2 Capture: A Feasibility Study
Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 355, 120466Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGreener carbon capture using microwave heating for the development of cellulose-based adsorbents
Fuel, vol. 358, no. Part B, 130246Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMesoporous configuration effects on the physicochemical features of hierarchical ZSM-5 supported cobalt oxide as catalysts in methane partial oxidation
Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, vol. 365, 112896Contributions to Journals: ArticlesInvestigation of support effects during ethanol steam reforming over a Ni/Sepiolite catalyst
Reaction Chemistry & Engineering , vol. 8, no. 12, pp. 2984-2999Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMetal-Organic Framework-Derived Ni-S/C Catalysts for Selective Alkyne Hydrogenation
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 15, no. 41, pp. 48135–48146Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSelective hydrogenation of stearic acid to stearyl alcohol over cobalt alumina catalysts
Applied Catalysis A: General, vol. 666, 119437Contributions to Journals: ArticlesGlucose isomerisation into fructose over alkali/alkaline-earth metal-supported NaY zeolites
David Jackson Retiral MeetingContributions to Conferences: PostersTransfer hydrogenation of carbon dioxide with bio-derived glycerol over zeolite-based catalysts
Contributions to Conferences: Oral PresentationsSelectivity of reaction pathways for green diesel production towards biojet fuel applications
RSC Advances, vol. 13, no. 20, pp. 13698-13714Contributions to Journals: Review articlesSustainable microcrystalline cellulose-based activated carbons for a greener carbon capture at post-combustion conditions
International journal of greenhouse gas control, vol. 125, 103876Contributions to Journals: ArticlesUnderstanding the Role of Coordinatively Unsaturated Al3+ Sites on Nanoshaped Al2O3 for Creating Uniform Ni–Cu Alloys for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene
ACS Catalysis, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 1952-1963Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMitigating catalyst deactivation in selective hydrogenation by enhancing dispersion and utilizing reaction heat effect
AIChE Journal, vol. 69, no. 2, e17874Contributions to Journals: ArticlesSupported Pt Enabled Proton-Driven NAD(P)+ Regeneration for Biocatalytic Oxidation
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 14, no. 18, pp. 20943-20952Contributions to Journals: ArticlesHighly Selective and Stable Isolated Non-Noble Metal Atom Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene
ACS Catalysis, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 607-615Contributions to Journals: ArticlesDirecting the H2-driven Selective Regeneration of NADH via Sn-doped Pt/SiO2
Green Chemistry, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 1451-1455Contributions to Journals: ArticlesMetal Phosphides and Sulfides in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Electronic and Geometric Effects
ACS Catalysis, vol. 11, no. 15, pp. 9102–9127Contributions to Journals: Review articlesAdsorbate-Induced Structural Evolution of Pd Catalyst for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene
ACS Catalysis, vol. 10, no. 24, pp. 15048–15059Contributions to Journals: Articles
