CV

You can find a full copy of my CV here.

Education

B.S. in Chemistry, College of William and Mary, 2015
Ph.D in Chemical Engineering, University of Florida, 2022

Work experience

August 2015 to August 2016: ORISE Intern
- Environmental Protection Agency, Fort Meade, MD
June 2022 to present: Postdoctoral Research Associate
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
- Supervisor: Prof. Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli

Publications

Tuning Brønsted acid strength by altering site proximity in CHA framework zeolites

Nystrom, S.; Hoffman, A.; Hibbitts, D. Tuning Brønsted Acid Strength by Altering Site Proximity in CHA Framework Zeolites. ACS Catal. 2018, 8 (9), 7842–7860. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.8b02049.

Restructuring of MFI framework zeolite models and their associated artifacts in density functional theory calculations

Hoffman, A.; DeLuca, M.; Hibbitts, D. Restructuring of MFI Framework Zeolite Models and Their Associated Artifacts in Density Functional Theory Calculations. J. Phys. Chem. C 2019, 123 (11), 6572–6585. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b12230.

Mechanism and Kinetics of Methylating C6 - C12 Methylbenzenes with Methanol and Dimethyl Ether in H-MFI Zeolites

DeLuca, M.; Kravchenko, P.; Hoffman, A.; Hibbitts, D. Mechanism and Kinetics of Methylating C6 –C12 Methylbenzenes with Methanol and Dimethyl Ether in H-MFI Zeolites. ACS Catal. 2019, 9 (7), 6444–6460. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.9b00650.

Mechanistic origins of the high-pressure inhibition of methanol dehydration rates in small-pore acidic zeolites

Di Iorio, J. R.; Hoffman, A. J.; Nimlos, C. T.; Nystrom, S.; Hibbitts, D.; Gounder, R. Mechanistic Origins of the High-Pressure Inhibition of Methanol Dehydration Rates in Small-Pore Acidic Zeolites. J. Catal. 2019, 380, 161–177. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2019.10.012.

Highly Selective Cross-Etherification of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural with Ethanol

Allen, M. C.; Hoffman, A. J.; Liu, T.; Webber, M. S.; Hibbitts, D.; Schwartz, T. J. Highly Selective Cross-Etherification of 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural with Ethanol. ACS Catal. 2020, 10 (12), 6771–6785. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.0c01328.

Rigid arrangements of ionic charge in zeolite frameworks conferred by specific aluminum distributions preferentially stabilize alkanol dehydration transition states.

Hoffman, A. J.; Bates, J. S.; Di Iorio, J. R.; Nystrom, S. V.; Nimlos, C. T.; Gounder, R.; Hibbitts, D. Rigid Arrangements of Ionic Charge in Zeolite Frameworks Conferred by Specific Aluminum Distributions Preferentially Stabilize Alkanol Dehydration Transition States. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed 2020, 59 (42), 18686–18694. DOI: 10.1002/anie.202007790.

Experimental and Theoretical Assessments of Aluminum Proximity in MFI Zeolites and Its Alteration by Organic and Inorganic Structure-Directing Agents

Nimlos, C. T.; Hoffman, A. J.; Hur, Y. G.; Lee, B. J.; Di Iorio, J. R.; Hibbitts, D. D.; Gounder, R. Experimental and Theoretical Assessments of Aluminum Proximity in MFI Zeolites and Its Alteration by Organic and Inorganic Structure-Directing Agents. Chem. Mater. 2020, 32 (21), 9277–9298. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.0c03154.

Comparing alkene-mediated and formaldehyde-mediated diene formation routes in methanol-to-olefins catalysis in MFI and CHA

Kilburn, L.; DeLuca, M.; Hoffman, A. J.; Patel, S.; Hibbitts, D. Comparing Alkene-Mediated and Formaldehyde-Mediated Diene Formation Routes in Methanol-to-Olefins Catalysis in MFI and CHA. J. Catal. 2021, 400, 124–139. DOI: 10.1016/j.jcat.2021.05.010.

Theoretical and Experimental Characterization of Adsorbed CO and NO on γ-Al2O3-Supported Rh Nanoparticles

Hoffman, A. J.; Asokan, C.; Gadinas, N.; Kravchenko, P.; Getsoian, A. “Bean”; Christopher, P.; Hibbitts, D. Theoretical and Experimental Characterization of Adsorbed CO and NO on γ-Al2O3-Supported Rh Nanoparticles. J. Phys. Chem. C 2021, 125 (36), 19733–19755. DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.1c05160.

Quantifying Effects of Active Site Proximity on Rates of Methanol Dehydration to Dimethyl Ether over Chabazite Zeolites through Microkinetic Modeling

Marsden, G.; Kostetskyy, P.; Sekiya, R.-S.; Hoffman, A.; Lee, S.; Gounder, R.; Hibbitts, D.; Broadbelt, L. J. Quantifying Effects of Active Site Proximity on Rates of Methanol Dehydration to Dimethyl Ether over Chabazite Zeolites through Microkinetic Modeling. ACS Mater. Au 2022, 2 (2), 163–175. DOI: 10.1021/acsmaterialsau.1c00057.

Altering the Arrangement of Framework Al Atoms in MEL Zeolites Using Mixtures of Tetrabutylammonium and Sodium Structure-Directing Agents

Bickel, E. E.; Hoffman, A. J.; Lee, S.; Snider, H. E.; Nimlos, C. T.; Zamiechowski, N. K.; Hibbitts, D. D.; Gounder, R. Altering the Arrangement of Framework Al Atoms in MEL Zeolites Using Mixtures of Tetrabutylammonium and Sodium Structure-Directing Agents. Chem. Mater. 2022, 34 (15), 6835–6852. DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemmater.2c01083.

Experimental and Theoretical Characterization of Rh Single Atoms Supported on γ-Al2 O3 with Varying Hydroxyl Contents during NO Reduction by CO

Hoffman, A. J.; Asokan, C.; Gadinas, N.; Schroeder, E.; Zakem, G.; Nystrom, S. V.; Getsoian, A. “Bean”; Christopher, P.; Hibbitts, D. Experimental and Theoretical Characterization of Rh Single Atoms Supported on γ-Al2 O3 with Varying Hydroxyl Contents during NO Reduction by CO. ACS Catal. 2022, 12 (19), 11697–11715. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.2c02813.

Brønsted acid strength does not change for bulk and external sites of MFI except for Al substitution where silanol groups form

Balcom, H.; Hoffman, A. J.; Locht, H.; Hibbitts, D. Brønsted Acid Strength Does Not Change for Bulk and External Sites of MFI except for Al Substitution Where Silanol Groups Form. ACS Catal. 2023, 4470–4487. DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.3c00076.

Synthetic Placement of Active Sites in MFI Zeolites for Selective Toluene Methylation to para-Xylene

Ezenwa, S.; Montalvo-Castro, M; Hoffman, A. J.; Locht, H.; Atteberry, J.; Jan, D.-Y.; Schmidthorst, M.; Chmelka, B.; Hibbitts, D.; Gounder, R. Synthetic Placement of Active Sites in MFI Zeolites for Selective Toluene Methylation to para-Xylene. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2024, 146, 15, 10666–10678. DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c00373.

An exhaustive mapping of zeolite-template chemical space

Xie, M.; Schwalbe-Koda, D.; Semanate-Esquive, Y. M.; Bello-Jurado, E.; Hoffman, A. J.; Santiago-Reyes, O.; Paris, C; Moliner, M.; Gómez-Bombarelli, R. An exhaustive mapping of zeolite-template chemical space. ChemRXiv 2024. DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-d74sw.

Learning descriptors to predict organic structure-directing agent applicability in zeolite synthesis

Hoffman, A. J.; Xie, M.; Gómez-Bombarelli, R. Learning descriptors to predict organic structure-directing agent applicability in zeolite synthesis. ChemRXiv 2024. DOI: 10.26434/chemrxiv-2024-mbg26.

Alex

CV