Rate My Professor Graham Hutchings

Hutchings specializes in heterogeneous catalysis, particularly the design and application of gold, gold-palladium, and other metal nanoparticle catalysts for selective oxidation, hydrogenation, direct synthesis of hydrogen peroxide, and acetylene hydrochlorination. His pioneering discovery of gold catalysis in the 1980s has led to its commercialization by Johnson Matthey, replacing mercury catalysts in vinyl chloride monomer production and significantly reducing environmental pollution. He has authored over 900 publications, including highly cited works such as 'Role of gold cations in the oxidation of carbon monoxide catalyzed by iron oxide-supported gold' (J. Catal., 2006), 'Identification of active gold nanoclusters on iron oxide supports for CO oxidation' (Science, 2008), and 'Solvent-Free Oxidation of Primary Carbon–Hydrogen Bonds in Toluene Using Au–Pd Alloy Nanoparticles' (Science, 2011), with an h-index exceeding 97 and tens of thousands of citations. His contributions have earned prestigious awards including election as Fellow of the Royal Society (2009), CBE (2018), Royal Society Davy Medal (2013), ENI Award for Advanced Environmental Solutions (2017), RSC Faraday Lectureship Prize (2018), Michel Boudart Award (2021), Gerhard Ertl Lecture Award (2024), and the Royal Academy of Engineering's Armourers and Brasiers Company Prize (2025). Hutchings has held editorial roles for journals like Journal of Catalysis and influenced the field through leadership in catalysis societies and institutes.