Biography

Dr. Kaden received his B.S. in Chemistry from the State University of New York at Oswego and his Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Utah before working as an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow in the Chemical-Physics department at the Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. Dr. Kaden is now an Assistant Professor within the Physics Department at UCF.

Research Areas

My research focuses on the fundamental studies of model catalytic systems with an emphasis on utilizing recent technological advances to investigate a more flexible range of materials than typically afforded via conventional ultra-high-vacuum surface-science techniques. The two main effects that I am interested in exploring relate to changes in the nature of the support as a function of thickness, structure, and electronic properties and the ways by which various factors associated with conventional liquid-based catalyst preparation techniques may act to alter their resultant physical and chemical properties in ways that may be commonly neglected by more conventional model-catalyst research. This research will be performed within a state-of-the-art ultrahigh vacuum surface-science machine with capabilities for various photoemission techniques, ion scattering, electron diffraction, mass spectroscopy, and low-temperature scan-probe techniques. Future plans include the inclusion of an infrared reflection-absorption cell to allow for better comparisons with theory and the possibility for in situ pressure-dependent studies as well as collaborative efforts at various synchrotron facilities within the U.S.