Krishna Jaishi
Virat Kohli에 의해Professional Oral Presentation Script
Tunable Single-Atom Catalysts for Low-Temperature Abiotic Hydrocarbon Synthesis under Martian Conditions
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Opening (30–40 seconds)
Good morning respected chair, distinguished professors, and colleagues.
My name is Krishna Jaishi, and today I will be presenting our research on tunable single-atom catalysts designed for low-temperature abiotic hydrocarbon synthesis under Martian conditions.
This work addresses a fundamental challenge at the intersection of catalysis, planetary science, and in-situ resource utilization: how to convert carbon dioxide into usable fuel on Mars without high temperature or high pressure.
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Problem Statement (1 minute)
Mars presents one of the harshest environments for chemical reactions. The atmosphere is composed of about 95 percent carbon dioxide, but the pressure is only around 0.6 kilopascals, and the average temperature is well below freezing.
On Earth, hydrocarbon synthesis from CO₂ is typically achieved using Fischer–Tropsch chemistry, which requires temperatures above 200 degrees Celsius and pressures of several megapascals. These conditions are completely impractical for Mars due to energy, mass, and engineering constraints.
So the core scientific question we asked is: Can we redesign the catalyst at the atomic level so that CO₂ hydrogenation becomes possible at Martian temperature and pressure?
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Scientific Concept & Hypothesis (1 minute)
Our hypothesis is that kinetic limitations, not thermodynamics, are the true bottleneck on Mars.
If we can:
Lower the activation energy for CO₂ adsorption
Enable hydrogen activation at sub-zero temperatures
And localize reactants near active sites under low pressure
then hydrocarbon synthesis should become feasible even in a Martian environment.
To achieve this, we combine two advanced catalytic concepts:
1. Single-atom catalysis, and
2. Redox-active, hierarchically porous supports.
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Why Single-Atom Catalysts? (1 minute)
Single-atom catalysts consist of isolated metal atoms rather than nanoparticles. This gives three major advantages:
First, maximum atomic efficiency — every metal atom is an active site. Second, precise electronic tuning — the metal’s d-band structure can be engineered through coordination. Third, uniform reaction pathways, which is essential
