Leonard Lab cover art depicting a molecule under a magnifying glass

Fuels & Chemicals for the Future

The Leonard Lab at the University of Kansas is dedicated to inventing, developing, and improving tools and processes that are sustainable, energy efficient, economically viable, and safe.


About the Leonard Lab

The Leonard Lab is an electrochemistry focused research group in the department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Kansas. The Leonard Lab aims to provide sustainable solutions to the world's foremost issues. Explore our published works, research topics, and information for prospective students below.

Leonard Lab News

American Chemical Society

ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Lectureship Award Winner

Professor Kevin Leonard was honored with the ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Lectureship Award for his multiple contributions to the field of sustainable chemistry and engineering, including the production, at scale, of clean hydrogen and the development of CO2-expanded electrolytes that offer potential in the rapidly developing area of synthetic electrochemistry.

Professor Kevin C. Leonard

Kevin C. Leonard is the leader of the Leonard Lab. He is an Associate Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Kansas and a member of the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis.

Prof. Kevin C. Leonard

Picture of Prof. Kevin C. Leonard

Research Topics

Graphic of splitting water molecules on a sun.

Electrocatalysis

Discovering new materials and reaction media to catalyze electrochemical reactions for the creation of renewable fuels and chemicals in an environmentally-beneficial manner.
Two electrode tips with depiction of intermediate species between.

Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy (SECM)

Advancing characterization techniques for catalytic and electrocatalytic materials to increase fundamental understanding of reaction mechanisms.
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Harnessing Data & Machine Learning

Developing novel data mining and extraction methodologies to accelerate catalytic insights and innovations.
Graphic depicting increased volume expansion and resulting positive effects

CO₂ Expanded Electrolytes

Utilizing CO₂, otherwise released as waste product, as a feedstock to produce value-added products.