About

Matteo Cargnello is an Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. He is a Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and holds the courtesy appointment of Professor, by courtesy, of Materials Science and Engineering. His research focuses on chemical engineering, with particular emphasis on energy-related applications, as indicated by his role at the Precourt Institute for Energy. The page highlights his position within the department and his affiliations, but does not provide specific details about his research background or key contributions.

Research topics

• Organic chemistry
• Chemistry
• Metallurgy
• Chemical engineering
• Engineering
• Materials science
• Inorganic chemistry

Selected publications

• Competitive reactivity drives size- and composition-focusing in multimetallic nanocrystals

  Science · 2026-05-07

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Multimetallic nanocrystals (NCs) offer distinctive properties driven by synergistic interactions among their constituent metals. Although colloidal chemistry enables control over size and composition, competing reactivities among metal precursors often complicate the synthesis of complex NCs. In this study, we systematically elucidate how the competitive reactivity of different metals in solution can be exploited to synthesize uniform pentametallic NCs despite numerous competing pathways. Mechanistic studies reveal heterodimers as key intermediates that mediate further metal incorporation through selective nucleation. Notably, the addition of more metals suppresses homogeneous nucleation, resulting in size- and composition-focusing to produce complex NCs with distinct multimetallic domains. When supported, these NCs show excellent thermal stability and catalytic activity for ammonia decomposition, offering a promising strategy for designing complex nanomaterials for energy-related applications.

  PublisherDOI

• Effect of Oxide Chemistry on Pt Redistribution and Site Exposure in ALD-Coated Catalysts

  ACS Catalysis · 2026-03-15

  articleCorresponding

  The development of sinter-resistant catalysts is critical for improving the longevity and efficiency of emission control systems. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been used to deposit thin, porous oxide materials on supported catalysts to enhance their thermal stability and resistance to sintering. In this study, we investigate the encapsulation of platinum (Pt) catalysts with common metal oxides (Al2O3, ZrO2, and TiO2) using ALD to deepen our understanding of this strategy for catalyst stabilization. Through a combination of structural characterization and catalytic performance testing using propene combustion as a model reaction, we demonstrate that ALD-derived metal oxide coatings effectively mitigate Pt particle agglomeration in all cases studied. We also find that after catalyst aging at 850 °C, small Pt clusters are formed in the ALD catalysts by migration of Pt species within the oxide ALD layers, contributing to higher activity for propene oxidation, particularly for the Al2O3 ALD catalyst. Combining experimental and theoretical insights, we correlate the higher activity of the Al2O3 ALD catalyst with an optimal Pt-oxide interaction that enables Pt redistribution while preserving accessible active sites. These findings highlight the potential of ALD as a strategy for designing durable catalysts with improved performance under high-temperature conditions. The insights gained from this work contribute to advancing catalyst technologies for cleaner energy and environmental applications.

  PublisherDOI

• The role of induction heating in catalytic methane decomposition over Fe/Al2O3

  Journal of CO2 Utilization · 2026-04-02

  articleOpen access

  Catalytic methane decomposition (CMD) offers a direct pathway to CO2-free hydrogen by converting CH4 into H2 and solid carbon. However, its application is constrained by the need for efficient heat delivery to the catalyst and the rapid deactivation of metal catalysts due to carburization and carbon encapsulation. Coupling CMD with the high energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions of conventional external heating, alternative heating technologies that address catalytic limitations are desirable. In this work, CMD over Fe/Al2O3 was evaluated under conventional furnace heating (CFH) and induction heating (IH) conditions at temperatures ranging from 700 °C to 750 °C. IH produced higher initial CH4 conversion and slower deactivation, sustaining steady-state conversions that were up to 43% higher after 60 min on stream. Thermogravimetric analysis confirmed greater carbon deposition under IH compared to CFH, while derivative thermogravimetric profiles were broader and shifted to higher temperatures, consistent with the formation of more filamentous carbon. Raman spectroscopy indicated similar graphitic order, but X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) revealed oversaturated Fe3C1+x in CFH and a higher graphitic-to-carbidic carbon ratio in IH. Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (STEM) supported these findings, showing that CFH terminated significant filament growth due to encapsulated Fe particles, whereas IH promoted sustained carbon filament growth. Multiphysics modeling predicted transient temperature oscillations at catalyst-susceptor interfaces, which may dynamically shift carbon solubility and mitigate continuous carburization of the Fe particles. The findings in this work highlight the importance of evaluating induction-heated catalytic systems with explicit consideration of dynamic process parameters and transient conditions, as well as their effects on the catalyst.

  PublisherDOI

• Eliciting a Synergistic Effect between Mixed Metal Oxides and Metallic Pt Nanoparticles for Active and Stable Catalysts

  ACS Catalysis · 2026-01-14

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Cold start exhaust from vehicular internal combustion engines contributes significantly to the total portion of vehicle emissions, yet modern emission control catalysts still rely on high exhaust temperatures to reach peak catalytic activity while being sensitive to sintering at the elevated operating conditions. Altering the physical support structure to utilize geometric effects can stabilize catalytic active phases. Alterations to electronic effects through manipulating the support chemical composition can improve the performance with lower temperatures to reach required pollutant conversion. In this study we probe how tuning the chemical composition of an encapsulated metal oxide system where platinum nanoparticles are encapsulated in mixed alumina and manganese oxide layers (Pt@xAl2O3/yMnOx) can provide a synergistic effect in increasing both catalytic activity and stability for carbon monoxide (CO) oxidation. Testing and aging of catalysts with different Al2O3/MnOx ratios (1/0, 3/1, 1/1, 1/3, and 0/1) revealed that some samples could outperform single metal oxide catalysts in both activity and stability metrics. Pt@3Al2O3/1MnOx, after a 1000 °C aging treatment in the presence of CO and in oxidizing conditions, showed a CO2 production rate at least 18 times larger than any other sample. It also demonstrated the least amount of deactivation after the 1000 °C aging treatment, its CO2 production rate decreased by 1.8 times, whereas the Pt@1Al2O3/1MnOx and Pt@1Al2O3/3MnOx samples recorded rate decreases of 310 and 1300 times, respectively. Based on these trends, we hypothesized that an alumina-rich sample could provide the optimal balance between stability and activity. A Pt@9Al2O3/1MnOx catalyst was thus synthesized and not only did not deactivate but also demonstrated an improvement in activity after aging, proving to be more than 88 times as active compared to Pt@Al2O3 aged at the same 1000 °C condition. This work proves that by optimizing the content of the aluminum and manganese mixed oxide in an encapsulated support, a synergistic restructuring of the support and Pt nanoparticles created a stable and active CO oxidation catalyst.

  PublisherDOI

• A Perspective on Supported Catalysts for Methane Pyrolysis: Toward Hydrogen Production and Synthesis of Crystalline Carbon Materials

  ACS Catalysis · 2026-05-08

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  H2 production is increasingly vital in decarbonizing heavy-emission sectors. Currently, steam methane reforming (SMR) is used industrially for H2 production but generates significant CO2 emissions that highlight the urgent need for more low-carbon processes for H2 generation. Methane pyrolysis presents a promising alternative by sequestering carbon in its solid form but faces challenges in catalyst durability and cost-effectiveness at the industrial scale relative to SMR. This perspective first discusses the fundamental properties essential for an ideal pyrolysis catalyst, focusing on intrinsic factors such as catalytic activity, carbon nucleation, and carbon growth mechanisms. Building on these fundamental concepts, it then discusses practical challenges relevant to the scaling of supported catalysts, including how to effectively assess catalyst cost-effectiveness and the limitations associated with achieving these metrics. Strategies to increase the lifetime of supported catalysts and the limitations of an ideal supported catalyst due to reactor design constraints are discussed, highlighting the opportunities and barriers to overcome in commercializing methane pyrolysis for hydrogen production. While supported catalysts offer the ability to enhance the lifetime during pyrolysis and flexibility in active phase and carbon transport tunability, existing challenges associated with balancing CNT synthesis and metal dusting, cost of scalability, and mass and heat transport for industrial pyrolysis need to be overcome.

  PublisherDOI

• Source data for "Dependence of catalytic properties of strongly supported platinum clusters with atom counts"

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-02-13

  datasetOpen access

  This file contains the spreadsheet source data for the manuscript entitled “Dependence of catalytic properties of strongly supported platinum clusters with atom counts” (aeb3087) and its Supplementary Materials. DFT-optimized structures, energies, and related metadata are available at Catalysis-Hub: https://www.catalysis-hub.org/publications/SongStrongly2026

  PublisherDOI

• Source data for "Dependence of catalytic properties of strongly supported platinum clusters with atom counts"

  Open MIND · 2026-02-13

  dataset

  This file contains the spreadsheet source data for the manuscript entitled “Dependence of catalytic properties of strongly supported platinum clusters with atom counts” (aeb3087) and its Supplementary Materials. DFT-optimized structures, energies, and related metadata are available at Catalysis-Hub: https://www.catalysis-hub.org/publications/SongStrongly2026

  DOI

• Seed-Mediated Colloidal Synthesis of Multimetallic and High-Entropy Alloy Nanocrystal Libraries with Enhanced Catalytic Performance

  Journal of the American Chemical Society · 2026-04-09

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  Engineering colloidally stable multimetallic nanocrystals offers many benefits in a wide range of applications and allows manipulation of physical, chemical, and electronic properties of materials at the nanoscale. Synthesis routes are challenged by the chemical complexity required to temporally and spatially coordinate the reduction and alloying of multiple metal species, which has hampered the development of tunable libraries of colloidal materials to date. In this work, we demonstrate a seed-mediated synthesis method to incorporate five or more metal elements into uniform, colloidally stable nanocrystals. By integrating machine learning-accelerated simulations, the synthesis of shortlisted high-entropy alloy nanocrystals was demonstrated. Multiple seed materials can be used, leading to a library of multimetallic nanocrystals with tunable electronic, physical, and alloy structures. The advantage of this synthetic protocol is highlighted in the preparation of catalytic materials that showed 2 orders of magnitude higher reaction rates than monometallic catalysts and outstanding thermal stability, thus highlighting the promise of this approach for high-performance materials in many areas.

  PublisherDOI

• Temperature-dependent solid electrolyte interphase reactions drive performance in lithium-mediated nitrogen reduction to ammonia

  Joule · 2025-01-23 · 7 citations

  articleOpen access
  PublisherDOI

• Competitive reactivity determines size- and composition-focusing and optimized catalytic performance in multi-domain multimetallic nanocrystals

  ChemRxiv · 2025-07-31

  preprintOpen accessSenior author

  Multimetallic nanocrystals (NCs) offer unique properties driven by synergistic interactions among their constituent metals. While colloidal chemistry enables control over size and composition, competing reactivities among metal precursors often complicate the synthesis of complex NCs. Here, we systematically elucidate how the competitive reactivity of different metals in solution can be exploited to synthesize uniform pentametallic NCs despite numerous competing pathways. Mechanistic studies reveal heterodimers as key intermediates that mediate further metal incorporation via selective nucleation. Remarkably, the addition of more metals suppresses homogeneous nucleation, resulting in size- and composition-focusing to produce complex NCs with distinct multimetallic domains. When supported, these NCs show excellent thermal stability and catalytic activity for ammonia decomposition, offering a promising strategy for designing complex nanomaterials for energy-related applications.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• CAS: Improving the Efficiency of Supported Palladium Catalysts for Methane Complete Combustion Using Monodisperse Nanocrystals

  NSF · $450k · 2020–2024

• Collaborative Research: EAGER: Measuring the Kinetics of Gas-Generating Electrolysis through the Collective Modes of Bubble Evolution

  NSF · $54k · 2017–2018

Frequent coauthors

• Emmett D. Goodman

  127 shared

• Thomas F. Jaramillo

  101 shared

• Paolo Fornasiero

  97 shared

• Simon R. Bare

  Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource

  89 shared

• Jay A. Schwalbe

  Stanford University

  89 shared

• Cody J. Wrasman

  National Renewable Energy Laboratory

  77 shared

• Raymond J. Gorte

  69 shared

• Liheng Wu

  National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing

  68 shared

Awards & honors

• Sloan Fellowship (2018)
• Mitsui Chemicals Catalysis Science Award for Creative Work (…
• Early Career Award in Catalysis from the ACS Catalysis Divis…