51cg

People

Dr Alan McCue

Dr Alan McCue
Dr Alan McCue
Dr Alan McCue

BSc, PhD, MRSC

Senior Lecturer

Accepting PhDs

51cg
Email Address
a.mccue@abdn.ac.uk
Office Address
036 Meston Building
Old Aberdeen Campus
Meston Walk
AB24 3UE

View on Map

School/Department
School of Natural and Computing Sciences






Biography

I recieved both my undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from the 51cg.  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 can be manipulated by careful design.  Catalytic materials of interest include supported metal catalysts, metal sulfides and metal phosphides.  I am also broadly interested in carbon capture, storage and utilisation.  I am also passionate about outreach work and enjoy working with schools.

Qualifications

  • BSc Chemistry 
    2008 - 51cg 
  • PhD Chemistry 
    2012 - 51cg 

Memberships and Affiliations

Internal Memberships

Academic Line Manager for Chemistry (Head of Department).

Programme director - Chemistry for Sustainable Energy MSc

External Memberships

Member of the Royal Society of Chemistry

Latest Publications

  • Dry reforming of methane via plasma-catalysis: Interplay between plasma, active metal, support, and reactor configuration

    Kechagiopoulos, P. N., Ogunyinka, O., McCue, A. J.
    Chemical Engineering Journal, 181700
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Plastic valorisation into added-value products via microwave and conventional pyrolysis: a review

    Dan, E. U., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    ACS Environmental Au, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 174–195
    Contributions to Journals: Review articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Catalytic upgrading of fatty acid to fatty alcohol over cobalt silica catalysts

    Rahmawati, Z., Anderson, J., McCue, A.
    Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 839-853
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Melamine-doped plastic-derived adsorbents for carbon capture: the influence of plastic type on textural properties and CO2 uptake

    Dan, E. U., Sheriff, J., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 102, 103262
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Roadmap for enhanced CO2 transfer hydrogenation with bio-derived glycerol over Ni-zeolite catalysts: Influence of zeolite structure and Si/Al ratio

    Rouse, N. V., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Graca, I.
    Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 101, 103199
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

View My Publications

Research

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. This interest therefore includes the general theme of carbon capture, utilisation and storage.  Within this area I am interested in the preparation of materials for carbon capture (i.e., gas separation) as well as the catalytic conversion of CO2. 

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.

Chemistry

  • Supervising
  • Accepting PhDs
View Research Area

Current Research

  • Selective alkyne hydrogenation
  • Development of CO2 hydrogenation catalysts
  • Catalysts for biomass upgrading
  • New and improved materials for gas separation

Funding and Grants

Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre - Separation of Organic Platform Chemicals from Spent Lees

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

Programmes

Courses

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

Page 1 of 2 Results 1 to 50 of 83

  • Dry reforming of methane via plasma-catalysis: Interplay between plasma, active metal, support, and reactor configuration

    Kechagiopoulos, P. N., Ogunyinka, O., McCue, A. J.
    Chemical Engineering Journal, 181700
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Plastic valorisation into added-value products via microwave and conventional pyrolysis: a review

    Dan, E. U., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    ACS Environmental Au, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 174–195
    Contributions to Journals: Review articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Catalytic upgrading of fatty acid to fatty alcohol over cobalt silica catalysts

    Rahmawati, Z., Anderson, J., McCue, A.
    Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 839-853
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Melamine-doped plastic-derived adsorbents for carbon capture: the influence of plastic type on textural properties and CO2 uptake

    Dan, E. U., Sheriff, J., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 102, 103262
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Roadmap for enhanced CO2 transfer hydrogenation with bio-derived glycerol over Ni-zeolite catalysts: Influence of zeolite structure and Si/Al ratio

    Rouse, N. V., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Graca, I.
    Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 101, 103199
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Structural and Surface Modifications of Zeolite to Tailor Its Catalytic Properties

    Khatrin, I., McCue, A. J., Abdullah, I., Krisnandi, Y. K.
    ChemistrySelect, vol. 10, no. 38, e04324
    Contributions to Journals: Review articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • Microwave Heating as an Energy-Efficient Route for Waste Valorisation and Carbon Capture: Invited Keynote

    Fernandez Martin, C., Dan, E. U., Biti, S. B., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I., Dionisi, D.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations
    • [ONLINE]

  • On the potential of microwave heating to convert waste into added-value chemicals and materials: a review

    Dan, E., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    The Royal Society Scientific Meeting on Microwave Science in Sustainability, 20240071
    Contributions to Journals: Review articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Laboratory data on the interfacial tension, viscosity, and density of two naphthenic acids in n-hexadecane across varying temperatures and concentrations

    Sarlak, M., McCue, A., Tanino, Y.
    Data in brief, vol. 59, 111322
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Pyrolysis-catalytic gasification of plastic waste for hydrogen-rich syngas production with hybrid-functional Ni-CaO–Ca2SiO4 catalyst

    Qin, T. H., Ji, G., Qu, B., McCue, A. J., Guan, S., Derksen, J., Zhang, Y. S.
    Carbon Capture Science and Technology, vol. 14, 100382
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Integrating isolated metal sites and sulfur vacancies in supported Ni catalysts for selective catalysis

    Zhu, Y., Li, N., McCue, A. J., Kong, D., Liu, Y., Li, D.
    Chemical Engineering Journal, vol. 506, 159932
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Innovative pathways in CO2 conversion to chemicals and fuels: Emerging transfer hydrogenation versus traditional hydrogenation

    Rouse, N. V., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I.
    Encyclopedia of Renewable Energy Engineering. Blaabjerg, F. (ed.). Elsevier
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [ONLINE]

  • Unlocking the Structure-Activity Relationship of Hierarchical MFI Zeolites Towards the Hydrocracking of HDPE

    Azam, M. U., Fernandes, A., Ferreira, M. J., McCue, A., Graca, I., Afzal, W.
    Fuel, vol. 379, 132990
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Water and Oil Volume Measurement Using UV–Visible Spectroscopy

    Sarlak, M., Reed, J., Law, S., McCue, A., Tanino, Y.
    Transport in Porous Media, vol. 152, no. 1, 5
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Cuboidal molybdenum sulfur clusters as a platform to construct novel catalysts for propane dehydrogenation

    Zheng, T., Weng, S., McCue, A. J., Yang, N., Ma, H., Xie, Y., Lin, Y., Liu, Y., Li, D.
    Journal of Catalysis, vol. 440, 115831
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • The role of the activation heating source on the carbon capture performance of two new adsorbents produced from household-mixed-plastic waste

    Dan, E., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 89, 102950
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Paving the way to transfer hydrogenation of CO2 with bio-derived glycerol over Ni supported zeolite catalysts

    Rouse, N. V., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I.
    Applied Catalysis A: General, vol. 687, 119971
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Non-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

    Kechagiopoulos, P., Rogers, J., Maitre, P. A., McCue, A., Campbell Bannerman, M.
    Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, vol. 44, no. 6, pp. 2057–2085
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Spectroelectrochemical study of carbon structural and functionality characteristics on vanadium redox reactions for flow batteries

    Phan, H. H., Bell, J. G., Mutch, G. A., McCue, A. J., Phan, A. N., Thomas, K. M.
    Materials Advances, vol. 5, no. 18, pp. 7170-7198
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Household mixed plastic-derived adsorbents for CO2 capture: A feasibility study

    Dan, E. U., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Dionisi, D.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • Isomerisation of glucose into fructose over basic zeolite catalysts

    Muhammad, M. B., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • Mixed plastic waste: an untapped and sustainable carbon source for producing CO2 adsorbents

    Dan, E. U., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • Towards low-cost and sustainable activated carbon production: influence of microwave activation time on yield and CO2 uptake of PET-derived adsorbents

    Dan, E. U., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Journal of CO2 Utilization, vol. 83, 102807
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Adsorption of organic acids in oil on crushed marble at varying temperatures and ambient pressure

    Sarlak, M., Jarrahian, K., McCue, A. J., Anderson, J. A., Tanino, Y.
    Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, vol. 686, 133231
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Household Mixed Plastic Waste Derived Adsorbents for CO2 Capture: A Feasibility Study

    Dan, E., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 355, 120466
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Greener carbon capture using microwave heating for the development of cellulose-based adsorbents

    Biti, S., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Fuel, vol. 358, no. Part B, 130246
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Mesoporous configuration effects on the physicochemical features of hierarchical ZSM-5 supported cobalt oxide as catalysts in methane partial oxidation

    Khatrin, I., Abdullah, I., McCue, A. J., Krisnandi, Y. K.
    Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, vol. 365, 112896
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Biomass-derived materials for carbon capture: a review

    Dan, E., McCue, A., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Encyclopedia of Renewable Energy Engineering. Elsevier
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Chapters
    • [ONLINE] DOI:

  • Investigation of support effects during ethanol steam reforming over a Ni/Sepiolite catalyst

    Zhurka, M., Anderson, J. A., McCue, A., Lemonidou, A. A., Kechagiopoulos, P.
    Reaction Chemistry & Engineering , vol. 8, no. 12, pp. 2984-2999
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Development of Sustainable Adsorbents for Post Combustion Carbon Capture: Conventional vs. Microwave-Assisted Activation

    Biti, S., Fernández Martín, C., McCue, A., Graça, I., Dionisi, D.
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Development of sustainable adsorbents for post combustion carbon capture using conventional and microwave heating

    Biti, S. B., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I., Dionisi, D.
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Influence of microwave activation time on CO2 uptake capacity of PET-derived adsorbents

    Dan, E. U., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Dionisi, D.
    Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings: Conference Proceedings
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Metal-Organic Framework-Derived Ni-S/C Catalysts for Selective Alkyne Hydrogenation

    Li, N., Weng, S., McCue, A. J., Song, Y., He, Y., Liu, Y., Feng, J., Li, D.
    ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 15, no. 41, pp. 48135–48146
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Selective hydrogenation of stearic acid to stearyl alcohol over cobalt alumina catalysts

    Rahmawati, Z., Anderson, J. A., McCue, A.
    Applied Catalysis A: General, vol. 666, 119437
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Cheap, Green, and Efficient: Microwave-assisted production of value-added carbons from ‘real-world’ mixed plastics for CO2 capture

    Dan, E. U., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    UoA Interdisciplinary Challenge Open Session
    Contributions to Conferences: Posters

  • Post-combustion CO2 application of sustainable hybrid adsorbent derived from bio-conjugated amino acid on MCM-41

    Ekpo, V., Fernandez Martin, C., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I., McCue, A.
    UoA Interdisciplinary Challenge Open Session
    Contributions to Conferences: Posters

  • Glucose isomerisation into fructose over alkali/alkaline-earth metal-supported NaY zeolites

    Muhammad, M. B., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I.
    David Jackson Retiral Meeting
    Contributions to Conferences: Posters

  • Transfer hydrogenation of carbon dioxide with bio-derived glycerol over zeolite-based catalysts

    Rouse, N. V., Fernandez Martin, C., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations
    • [ONLINE]

  • Melamine-Doped PET-derived Adsorbents for Post-Combustion CO2 Capture

    Dan, E. U., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • Feasibility of amino acid functionalized mesoporous silica synthesis and application for post-combustion CO2 capture

    Ekpo, V. F., McCue, A., Biscaya Semedo Pereira da Graca, I., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • Melamine-Doped PET-Derived Adsorbents for Post-combustion CO2 Capture

    Dan, E. U., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Fernandez Martin, C.
    Contributions to Conferences: Oral Presentations

  • Selectivity of reaction pathways for green diesel production towards biojet fuel applications

    Rahmawati, Z., Santoso, L., McCue, A., Azua Jamari, N. L., Ninglasari, S. Y., Gunawan, T., Fansuri, H.
    RSC Advances, vol. 13, no. 20, pp. 13698-13714
    Contributions to Journals: Review articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Sustainable microcrystalline cellulose-based activated carbons for a greener carbon capture at post-combustion conditions

    Biti, S., McCue, A., Dionisi, D., Graca, I., Fernandez Martin, C.
    International journal of greenhouse gas control, vol. 125, 103876
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Understanding the Role of Coordinatively Unsaturated Al3+ Sites on Nanoshaped Al2O3 for Creating Uniform Ni–Cu Alloys for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene

    Song, Y., Weng, S., Fan, X., McCue, A., Zheng, L., He, Y., Feng, J., Liu, Y., Li, D.
    ACS Catalysis, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 1952-1963
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Mitigating catalyst deactivation in selective hydrogenation by enhancing dispersion and utilizing reaction heat effect

    Liu, Y., Weng, S., McCue, A. J., Fu, B., Yu, H., He, Y., Feng, J., Li, D., Duan, X.
    AIChE Journal, vol. 69, no. 2, e17874
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Supported Pt Enabled Proton-Driven NAD(P)+ Regeneration for Biocatalytic Oxidation

    Burnett, J. W., Chen, H., Li, J., Li, Y., Huang, S., Shi, J., McCue, A. J., Howe, R. F., Minteer, S. D., Wang, X.
    ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 14, no. 18, pp. 20943-20952
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Highly Selective and Stable Isolated Non-Noble Metal Atom Catalysts for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene

    Fu, B., McCue, A., Liu, Y., Weng, S., Song, Y., He, Y., Feng, J., Li, D.
    ACS Catalysis, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 607-615
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]

  • Directing the H2-driven Selective Regeneration of NADH via Sn-doped Pt/SiO2

    Burnett, J. W. H., Li, J., McCue, A. J., Kechagiopoulos, P., Howe, R. F., Wang, X.
    Green Chemistry, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 1451-1455
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Metal Phosphides and Sulfides in Heterogeneous Catalysis: Electronic and Geometric Effects

    Liu, Y., McCue, A., Li, D.
    ACS Catalysis, vol. 11, no. 15, pp. 9102–9127
    Contributions to Journals: Review articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]

  • Adsorbate-Induced Structural Evolution of Pd Catalyst for Selective Hydrogenation of Acetylene

    Liu, Y., Fu, F., McCue, A., Jones, W., Rao, D., Feng, J., He, Y., Li, D.
    ACS Catalysis, vol. 10, no. 24, pp. 15048–15059
    Contributions to Journals: Articles
    • [ONLINE] DOI:
    • [OPEN ACCESS]
    • [ONLINE]
Show 10 | 25 | 50 | 100 results per page

Refine

Chapters in Books, Reports and Conference Proceedings

Contributions to Conferences

Contributions to Journals

Update