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Scientific interests:

• Fundamental aspects of the surface chemistry of gases adsorbed on photo-, thermally, chemically and electronically excited semiconductor oxides and heterogeneous catalysts – noble metal nanoparticles loaded on oxides;
• In particular, studies on the role of surface hydroxyl groups in physisorption, chemical transformation and electron-exchange processes; investigation of the processes of molecular and dissociative adsorption of gases, H-atom spillover and electron transfer on(to) metal/semiconductor systems; catalytic and photocatalytic (UV and Visible) degradation and mineralization of hazardous molecules, including simulants of CWA’s;
• Application of molecular probe molecules to study the nature, state and role of active surface sites in the adsorption and catalytic conversion of gases; studies on the involvement of lattice oxygen in the formation of intermediate and full oxidation products of adsorbates. Investigation of the kinetics and mechanisms of catalytic processes under steady-state and transient conditions;
• Application of adsorption and catalytic methods, methods of isotopic exchange, thermo-programmed desorption, thermo-programmed reduction, thermo-programmed reactions, Infrared spectroscopy, Mass-spectrometry and Gas chromatography to study adsorption, catalytic and photocatalytic processes. Non-ordinary application of IR spectroscopy to study the processes of charge carrier accumulation and transfer in semiconductor based catalyst systems.

Selected papers:

1. Lagunov, O, Drenchev, N., Chakarova, K., Panayotov, D., Hadjiivanov, K.
   “Isotopic Labelling in Vibrational Spectroscopy: A Technique to Decipher the Structure of Surface Species”,
   Topics in Catalysis 60 (2017) 19−20.
   
2. Panayotov, D., Frenkel, A., Morris, J.
   “Catalysis and Photocatalysis by Nanoscale Au/TiO₂: Perspectives for Renewable Energy”,
   ACS Energy Letters 2 (2017) 1223−1231.
3. Driscoll, D., Tang, W., Burrows, S., Panayotov, D., Neurock, M., McEntee, M., Morris, J.
   “Binding Sites, Geometry, and Energetics of Propene at Nanoparticulate Au/TiO₂”
   The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 121 (2017) 1683−1689.
   
4. Panayotov, D., Morris, J.
   “Surface chemistry of Au/TiO₂: Thermally and photolytically activated reactions”,
   Surface Science Reports 71 (2016) 77−271.
   
5. Panayotov, D., Ivanova, E., Mihaylov, M., Chakarova, K., Spassov, T., Hadjiivanov, K.
   “Hydrogen Spillover on Rh/TiO₂: FTIR Study of Donated Electrons, Coadsorbed CO and H/D Exchange”
   Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 17 (2015) 20563-20573.