Dr Marco Conte

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Lecturer in Physical Chemistry

m.conte@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 9506

Dainton Building

Full contact details

Dr Marco Conte
School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Dainton Building
13 Brook Hill
Sheffield
S3 7HF

Profile

Dr. Marco Conte is a chemist who specialises in analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, and catalysis, mainly focused on scale-up applications. He completed his Laurea in Chemistry at the University of Padova in 2003, followed by a PhD at Cardiff University in 2006. Dr. Conte’s postdoctoral work includes positions at leading institutions: he served as a Research Associate at the University of York (2006-2009), Cardiff School of Chemistry (2010-2011), and the Cardiff Catalysis Institute (2011-2013), and as a research visitor at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratories (2013-2014), where he deepened his expertise in catalytic processes.

In 2013, Dr. Conte joined the University of Sheffield as a lecturer, initially focusing on teaching. In 2014, his role expanded to include research in physical chemistry and catalysis. He is currently serving as an editorial board member for the Molecular Catalysis journal.

Qualifications

MRSC
FHEA

Research interests

Dr Conte is widely recognized for his extensive research in the development of novel heterogeneous catalysts for sustainable chemical processes. His work addresses key areas such as fine chemical synthesis, hydrogen production, hydrocarbon oxidation, water treatment, biomass-to-fuel conversion, and waste valorisation. This is achieved by developing materials that are either thermally of photochemically activated.

A major focus of his research lies in identifying structural/activity correlations, which he pursues through advanced analytical chemistry and method development. His lab utilizes a diverse array of spectroscopic and characterization techniques, including magnetic resonance spectroscopies (NMR and EPR), optical spectroscopies (IR, Raman), thermal analysis (TGA), chromatographic techniques (GC/MS), surface science methods (XPS), bulk solid analysis (XRPD and in situ XRD), and elemental analysis (ICP).

Dr. Conte’s groundbreaking work with metal nanoparticles, metal oxides, and microporous materials, combined with his expertise in developing in situ spectroscopies for catalysis, has resulted in over 50 influential publications. With an H-index of 30 and more than 4,000 citations, his research has been repeatedly featured in prestigious scientific journals, underscoring the far-reaching impact and innovation of his work.

Publications

Journal articles

Huang Z-S, Wang Y-F, Qi M-Y, Conte M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J (2024) Interface Synergy of Exposed Oxygen Vacancy and Pd Lewis Acid Sites Enabling Superior Cooperative Photoredox Synthesis. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, e202412707.
Adams C, Conte M, Alborzi E, Meijer AJHM, Hughes K & Pourkashanian M (2024) Exploring Homolytic Aromatic Substitution as a Driver for Fuel Deposition with Quantum Chemistry and Experiments. Fuel, 360, 130470-130470.
Forster L, Kashbor MMM, Railton J, Chansai S, Hardacre C, Conte M & D'Agostino C (2023) Low-field 2D NMR relaxation and DRIFTS studies of glucose isomerization in zeolite Y: New insights into adsorption effects on catalytic performance. Journal of Catalysis, 425, 269-285.
Wang Y-F, Qi M-Y, Conte M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J (2023) New Radical Route and Insight for Highly Efficient Benzimidazoles Synthesis Integrated with Hydrogen Evolution. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, e202304306.
Kashbor MMM, Sutarma D, Railton J, Sano N, Cumpson PJ, Gianolio D, Cibin G, Forster L, D’Agostino C, Liu X , Chen L et al (2022) Conversion of glucose to fructose over Sn and Ga-doped zeolite Y in methanol and water media. Applied Catalysis A: General, 642.
Qi M-Y, Conte M, Anpo M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J (2021) Cooperative Coupling of Oxidative Organic Synthesis and Hydrogen Production over Semiconductor-Based Photocatalysts.. Chem Rev.
Begum H, Horoshenkov KV, Conte M, Malfait WJ, Zhao S, Koebel MM, Bonfiglio P & Venegas R (2021) The acoustical properties of tetraethyl orthosilicate based granular silica aerogels. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 149(6), 4149-4158.
Lu K-Q, Li Y-H, Zhang F, Qi M-Y, Chen X, Tang Z-R, Yamada YMA, Anpo M, Conte M & Xu Y-J (2020) Rationally designed transition metal hydroxide nanosheet arrays on graphene for artificial CO2 reduction. Nature Communications, 11.
Razali NA, Conte M & McGregor J (2019) The role of impurities in the La2O3 catalysed carboxylation of crude glycerol. Catalysis Letters. View this article in WRRO
Wilde CA, Ryabenkova Y, Firth IM, Pratt L, Railton J, Bravo-Sanchez M, Sano N, Cumpson PJ, Coates PD, Liu X & Conte M (2019) Novel rhodium on carbon catalysts for the oxidation of benzyl alcohol to benzaldehyde: A study of the modification of metal/support interactions by acid pre-treatments. Applied Catalysis A: General, 570, 271-282. View this article in WRRO
Weston JO, Miyamura H, Yasukawa T, Sutarma D, Baker CA, Singh PK, Bravo-Sanchez M, Sano N, Cumpson PJ, Ryabenkova Y , Kobayashi S et al (2017) Water as a catalytic switch in the oxidation of aryl alcohols by polymer incarcerated rhodium nanoparticles. Catal. Sci. Technol., 7(18), 3985-3998. View this article in WRRO
Liu X, Conte M, He Q, Knight D, Murphy D, Taylor S, Whiston K, Kiely C & Hutchings GJ (2017) Catalytic Partial Oxidation of Cyclohexane by Bimetallic Ag/Pd Nanoparticles on Magnesium Oxide. Chemistry, 23(49), 11834-11842. View this article in WRRO
Ryabenkova Y, Jadav N, Conte M, Hippler MFA, Reeves-McLaren N, Coates PD, Twigg P & Paradkar A (2017) Mechanism of Hydrogen-Bonded Complex Formation between Ibuprofen and Nanocrystalline Hydroxyapatite. Langmuir, 33(12), 2965-2976. View this article in WRRO
Conte M & Hippler MFA (2016) Dynamic NMR and Quantum-Chemical Study of the Stereochemistry and Stability of the Chiral MoO2(acac)2 Complex in Solution. The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 120(34), 6677-6687. View this article in WRRO
Liu X, Conte M, Elias D, Lu L, Morgan DJ, Freakley SJ, Johnston P, Kiely CJ & Hutchings GJ (2016) Investigation of the active species in the carbon-supported gold catalyst for acetylene hydrochlorination. Catalysis Science and Technology, 6(13), 5144-5153.
Conte M, Liu X, Murphy DM, Taylor SH, Whiston K & Hutchings GJ (2016) Insights into the Reaction Mechanism of Cyclohexane Oxidation Catalysed by Molybdenum Blue Nanorings. Catalysis Letters, 146(1), 126-135. View this article in WRRO
Horoshenkov K, Pelegrinis M, Conte M, Venegas R & Umnova O (2015) Acoustical characterization of nano-porous carbons. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(3), 1885-1885.
Liu X, Conte M, Sankar M, He Q, Murphy DM, Morgan D, Jenkins RL, Knight D, Whiston K, Kiely CJ & Hutchings GJ (2015) Liquid phase oxidation of cyclohexane using bimetallic Au–Pd/MgO catalysts. Applied Catalysis A: General, 504, 373-380. View this article in WRRO
Alhumaimess M, Lin Z, Dimitratos N, Dummer NF, Conte M, Taylor SH, Bartley JK, Hutchings GJ, Kiely CJ, He Q & Lu L (2014) Oxidation of Benzyl Alcohol and Carbon Monoxide Using Gold Nanoparticles Supported on MnO Nanowire Microspheres. Chemistry - A European Journal.
Conte M, Davies CJ, Morgan DJ, Carley AF, Johnston P & Hutchings GJ (2014) Characterization of Au³⁺ species in Au/C catalysts for the hydrochlorination reaction of acetylene. Catalysis Letters, 144(1), 1-8. View this article in WRRO
Behera GC, Parida K, Dummer NF, Whiting G, Sahu N, Carley AF, Conte M, Hutchings GJ & Bartley JK (2013) Tungstate promoted vanadium phosphate catalysts for the gas phase oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. Catalysis Science and Technology, 3(6), 1558-1564.
Conte M, Davies CJ, Morgan DJ, Davies TE, Elias DJ, Carley AF, Johnston P & Hutchings GJ (2013) Aqua regia activated Au/C catalysts for the hydrochlorination of acetylene. Journal of Catalysis, 297, 128-136.
Conte M, Davies CJ, Morgan DJ, Davies TE, Carley AF, Johnston P & Hutchings GJ (2013) Modifications of the metal and support during the deactivation and regeneration of Au/C catalysts for the hydrochlorination of acetylene. Catalysis Science and Technology, 3(1), 128-134.
Conte M & Hutchings GJ (2012) ChemInform Abstract: Hydrochlorination of Acetylene Catalyzed by Gold. ChemInform, 43(52), no-no.
Conte M, Liu X, Murphy DM, Whiston K & Hutchings GJ (2012) Cyclohexane oxidation using Au/MgO: an investigation of the reaction mechanism.. Phys Chem Chem Phys, 14(47), 16279-16285.
Conte M, Xu B, Davies TE, Bartley JK, Carley AF, Taylor SH, Khalid K & Hutchings GJ (2012) Enhanced selectivity to propene in the methanol to hydrocarbons reaction by use of ZSM-5/11 intergrowth zeolite. Microporous and Mesoporous Materials, 164, 207-213.
Lopez-Sanchez JA, Conte M, Landon P, Zhou W, Bartley JK, Taylor SH, Carley AF, Kiely CJ, Khalid K & Hutchings GJ (2012) Reactivity of Ga 2O 3 clusters on zeolite ZSM-5 for the conversion of methanol to aromatics. Catalysis Letters, 142(9), 1049-1056.
Pradhan S, Bartley JK, Bethell D, Carley AF, Conte M, Golunski S, House MP, Jenkins RL, Lloyd R & Hutchings GJ (2012) Non-lattice surface oxygen species implicated in the catalytic partial oxidation of decane to oxygenated aromatics.. Nat Chem, 4(2), 134-139.
Conte M, Lopez-Sanchez JA, He Q, Morgan DJ, Ryabenkova Y, Bartley JK, Carley AF, Taylor SH, Kiely CJ, Khalid K & Hutchings GJ (2012) Modified zeolite ZSM-5 for the methanol to aromatics reaction. Catalysis Science and Technology, 2(1), 105-112.
Weng W, Al Otaibi R, Alhumaimess M, Conte M, Bartley JK, Dummer NF, Hutchings GJ & Kiely CJ (2011) Controlling vanadium phosphate catalyst precursor morphology by adding alkane solvents in the reduction step of VOPO4·2H2O to VOHPO4·0.5H2O. Journal of Materials Chemistry, 21(40), 16136-16146.
Brett GL, He Q, Hammond C, Miedziak PJ, Dimitratos N, Sankar M, Herzing AA, Conte M, Lopez-Sanchez JA, Kiely CJ , Knight DW et al (2011) Selective oxidation of glycerol by highly active bimetallic catalysts at ambient temperature under base-free conditions. Angewandte Chemie - International Edition, 50(43), 10136-10139.
Brett GL, He Q, Hammond C, Miedziak PJ, Dimitratos N, Sankar M, Herzing AA, Conte M, Lopez-Sanchez JA, Kiely CJ , Knight DW et al (2011) Selective Oxidation of Glycerol by Highly Active Bimetallic Catalysts at Ambient Temperature under Base-Free Conditions. Angewandte Chemie, 123(43), 10318-10321.
Conte M, Wilson K & Chechik V (2010) A catalytic reactor for the trapping of free radicals from gas phase oxidation reactions.. Rev Sci Instrum, 81(10), 104102.
Conte M & Chechik V (2010) Spin trapping of radical intermediates in gas phase catalysis: cyclohexane oxidation over metal oxides.. Chem Commun (Camb), 46(22), 3991-3993.
Chechik V, Conte M, Dransfield T, North M & Omedes-Pujol M (2010) Cyanogen formation during asymmetric cyanohydrin synthesis.. Chem Commun (Camb), 46(19), 3372-3374.
Conte M, Miyamura H, Kobayashi S & Chechik V (2010) Enhanced acyl radical formation in the Au nanoparticle-catalysed aldehyde oxidation.. Chem Commun (Camb), 46(1), 145-147.
Conte M, Carley AF, Attard G, Herzing AA, Kiely CJ & Hutchings GJ (2009) Corrigendum to “Hydrochlorination of acetylene using supported bimetallic Au-based catalysts” [J. Catal. 257 (2008) 190–198]. Journal of Catalysis, 266(1), 164-164.
Conte M, Ma Y, Loyns C, Price P, Rippon D & Chechik V (2009) Mechanistic insight into TEMPO-inhibited polymerisation: simultaneous determination of oxygen and inhibitor concentrations by EPR.. Org Biomol Chem, 7(13), 2685-2687.
Conte M, Miyamura H, Kobayashi S & Chechik V (2009) Spin trapping of Au-H intermediate in the alcohol oxidation by supported and unsupported gold catalysts.. J Am Chem Soc, 131(20), 7189-7196.
Conte M, Wilson K & Chechik V (2009) Radical intermediates in chloroform reactions over triphenylphosphine-protected Au nanoparticles.. Org Biomol Chem, 7(7), 1361-1367.
Conte M, Carley AF & Hutchings GJ (2008) Reactivation of a carbon-supported gold catalyst for the hydrochlorination of acetylene. Catalysis Letters, 124(3-4), 165-167.
Conte M, Carley AF, Attard G, Hutchings GJ, Herzing AA & Kiely CJ (2008) Hydrochlorination of acetylene using supported bimetallic Au-based catalysts. Journal of Catalysis, 257(1), 190-198.
Conte M, Davies T, Carley AF, Herzing AA, Kiely CJ & Hutchings GJ (2007) Selective formation of chloroethane by the hydrochlorination of ethene using zinc catalysts. JOURNAL OF CATALYSIS, 252(1), 23-29.
Ionita P, Conte M, Gilbert BC & Chechik V (2007) Gold nanoparticle-initiated free radical oxidations and halogen abstractions.. Org Biomol Chem, 5(21), 3504-3509.
Conte M, Carley AF, Heirene C, Willock DJ, Johnston P, Herzing AA, Kiely CJ & Hutchings GJ (2007) Hydrochlorination of acetylene using a supported gold catalyst: A study of the reaction mechanism. Journal of Catalysis, 250(2), 231-239.
Conte M, Budroni G, Bartley JK, Taylor SH, Carley AF, Schmidt A, Murphy DM, Girgsdies F, Ressler T, Schlögl R & Hutchings GJ (2006) Chemically induced fast solid-state transitions of omega-VOPO4 in vanadium phosphate catalysts.. Science, 313(5791), 1270-1273.
Solsona B, Conte M, Cong Y, Carley A & Hutchings G (2005) Unexpected promotion of Au/TiO2 by nitrate for CO oxidation. Chemical Communications(18), 2351-2353.
Huang Z-S, Wang Y-F, Qi M-Y, Conte M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J () Interface Synergy of Exposed Oxygen Vacancy and Pd Lewis Acid Sites Enabling Superior Cooperative Photoredox Synthesis. Angewandte Chemie.
Wang Y-F, Qi M-Y, Conte M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J () Bimetallic Single Atom/Nanoparticle Ensemble for Efficient Photochemical Cascade Synthesis of Ethylene from Methane. Angewandte Chemie International Edition.
Wang Y-F, Qi M-Y, Conte M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J () Bimetallic Single Atom/Nanoparticle Ensemble for Efficient Photochemical Cascade Synthesis of Ethylene from Methane. Angewandte Chemie.
Li Y-H, Wang Y-F, Li J-Y, Qi M-Y, Conte M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J () Selective Imines Synthesis by Designing an Atomic-Level Cu–Pt Electron Transfer Channel over CdS Nanosheets. ACS Catalysis, 657-669.
Wang Y-F, Qi M-Y, Conte M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J () New Radical Route and Insight for Highly Efficient Benzimidazoles Synthesis Integrated with Hydrogen Evolution. Angewandte Chemie.
Qi M-Y, Conte M, Tang Z-R & Xu Y-J () Engineering Semiconductor Quantum Dots for Selectivity Switch on High-Performance Heterogeneous Coupling Photosynthesis. ACS Nano.
Liu X, Ryabenkova Y & Conte M () Catalytic oxygen activation versus autoxidation for industrial applications: a physicochemical approach. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 17(2), 715-731. View this article in WRRO
Herzing AA, Watanabe M, Edwards JK, Conte M, Tang Z-R, Hutchings GJ & Kiely CJ () Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy of bimetallic nanoparticles in an aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscope. FARADAY DISCUSSIONS, 138, 337-351. View this article in WRRO
Alghamdi N, Alqahtani Z, Zhou C, Sano N, Conte M & Grell M () Sensing aromatic pollutants in water with catalyst-sensitized water-gated transistor. Chemical Papers. View this article in WRRO
Liu X, Conte M, Weng W, He Q, Jenkins RL, Watanabe M, Morgan DJ, Knight DW, Murphy DM, Whiston K , Kiely CJ et al () Molybdenum blue nano-rings: an effective catalyst for the partial oxidation of cyclohexane. Catalysis Science & Technology, 5(1), 217-227. View this article in WRRO

Chapters

Conte M & Hutchings GJ (2012) Hydrochlorination of acetylene catalyzed by gold In Hashmi ASK & Toste FD (Ed.), Modern Gold Catalyzed Synthesis Wiley-VCH

Conference proceedings papers

Adams C, Conte M, Alborzi E, Meijer AJHM, Hughes K & Pourkashanien M (2022) PREDICTING THERMAL STABILITY BEHAVIOR WITH QUANTUM CHEMISTRY. Proceedings of the 17th International Conference on Stability Handling and Use of Liquid Fuels, IASH 2022

Teaching interests: Physical chemistry, analytical chemistry, industrial catalysis, cleaner production, communication for sustainable researchers

Teaching activities

Undergraduate taught modules

Chemistry at surfaces (Year 3)
This segment focuses on the study of chemical reactions and processes that occur at the interface between two or more phases.

Postgraduate taught modules

The physical chemistry of heterogeneous catalysis (Year 4 and MSc)
This course is focused on the description and application of physical chemistry principles that are at the basis of heterogeneous catalysis, and applied to relevant industrial processes.
Sustainable Technologies (Year 4 and MSc)
This module analyses a series of chemical processes aimed at the manufacturing of commodities and how to reduce their environmental impact
Communication for sustainable researchers (Year 4 and MSc)
This module explores how to translate complex scientific information focused on life cycle analysis and sustainability in an accurate manner to a lay audience by using multimedia tools.

Support Teaching:

Level 3 Literature Review

Laboratory Teaching:

Level 2 and Level 3 Physical chemistry laboratories
Level 4 Research Project

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Dr Marco Conte

Journal articles

Chapters

Conference proceedings papers

Links