Digital Commons Network^™

Photooxidation Reactions Of Small-Chain Methyl Esters, Aerosol Photoelectron Spectroscopy, And The Photodissociation Of Ethylenediamine, Giel Muller

Master's Theses

Research conducted at the University of San Francisco is presented within this masters thesis, including the Cl-initiated photooxidation reactions of methyl propanoate, methyl butanoate, and methyl valerate (pentanoate), the aerosol photoelectron spectroscopy of isoprene and gamma-valerolactone, and the TPEPICO investigation of ethylenediamine. Experiments were conducted at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Advanced Light Source (ALS), the National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center in Hsinchu City (NSRRC), and the University of Stockton in California, respectively.

Syneresis And Rheology Mechanisms Of A Latex-Heur Associative Thickener System, Travis Bruno Smith

Master's Theses

Rheology modifiers are used in paints and coatings to ease their application to a surface, prevent sagging once applied, and allow the leveling of brushstrokes, among other benefits. The early rheology modifiers were hydroxyethyl celluloses (HECs), a type of non-associative thickener that is relatively inexpensive and synthesized from cellulose, which is abundant. However, coatings that are modified with HECs tend to suffer from poor leveling and syneresis (phase separation). HECs have since been replaced with associative thickeners (ATs). These thickeners, when properly formulated, produce stable dispersions that have improved rheological properties, yet, unlike HECs, are sensitive to changes to the …

Production And Harvest Of Microalgae In Wastewater Raceways With Resource Recycling, Alexander Colin Roberts

Master's Theses

Microalgae can be grown on municipal wastewater media to both treat the wastewater and produce feedstock for algae biofuel production. However the reliability of treatment must be demonstrated, as well as high areal algae productivity on recycled wastewater media and efficient sedimentation harvesting. This processes was studied at pilot scale in the present research.

A pilot facility was operated with nine CO₂-supplemented raceway ponds, each with a 33-m² surface area and a 0.3-m depth, continuously from March 6, 2013 through September 24, 2014. The ponds were operated as three sets of triplicates with two sets continuously fed …

Revision-Polyurethane-Graphene Nanocomposites For Corrosion-Resistant Coatings, Alexandra Rose Stevenson

Master's Theses

Corrosion is a prevalent concern throughout the world, causing significant monetary and safety concerns. Research has been dedicated to developing cost-effective solutions for corrosion that will also meet increasingly stringent environmental regulations. The recently discovered nanomaterial graphene has been proposed as a potential component in anticorrosion technology due to its strong air and water barrier properties. However, graphene is a relatively expensive, difficult to synthesize material. By incorporating it into nanocomposites, its properties can be exploited even at low concentrations. Previous work has been conducted involving the preparation of anticorrosive polystyrene-graphene nanocomposites; these materials were found to be effective long-term …

Morphology-Property Relationship For Binary Organic Thin Films, Alyssa Lynn Griffin

Master's Theses

Organic thin films can be readily mass-produced through solution-based fabrication methods including ink-printing and solution-casting because their light weight, flexibility, and inexpensive sources. Their applications range from organic field-effect transistors (OFET), organic solar cells (OSC), to organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Compared with pure component films, binary organic thin films (BOTF) allows for novel characteristics and specialized features to handle more demanding tasks. Due to the complex intermolecular interactions in BOTF, various microscopic phases with different morphological and electronic properties may be formed and this information is difficult to extract through conventional bulk measurements.

Organic thin films can be readily …

Composition Effects On Sheen And Spread Rate Of An Interior Flat, One Coat Latex Paint Formulation, Dana James Christensen Ii

Master's Theses

Interior flat, white latex paint is a common coating applied to walls around the world. Development of a coating with one coat hide capability is a pinnacle achievement for paint formulators as it has the potential to save consumers both time and money. One coat paints already exist on the market, but they are limited in color, coverage, and often have many disclaimers. Work done was part of a project initiated by ChemoursTM Titanium Technologies.

The goal of the project presented in this article was to create an interior flat, white latex paint that yields a spread rate of greater …

Effect Of Surfactant Architecture On Conformational Transitions Of Conjugated Polyelectrolytes, Greg A. Braggin

Master's Theses

Water soluble conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs), which fall under the category of conductive polymers, possess numerous advantages over other conductive materials for the fabrication of electronic devices. Namely, the processing of water soluble conjugated polyelectrolytes into thin film electronic devices is much less costly as compared to the processing of inorganic materials. Moreover, the handling of conjugated polyelectrolytes can be performed in a much more environmentally friendly manner than in the processing of other conjugated polymers because conjugated polyelectrolytes are water soluble, whereas other polymers will only dissolve in toxic organic solvents. The processing of electronic devices containing inorganic constituents such …

The Investigation Of The Low Temperature Combustion Of Mesitylene And Tert-Amyl Methyl Ether By Synchrotron Photoionization Mass Spectrometry, Martin Yu-Hin Ng

Master's Theses

This thesis describes the combustion experiments performed at the Chemical Dynamics Beamline of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) located at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories (LBNL). The need for renewable fuel sources, the need for the study of their combustion in the contexts of homogenous charge combustion ignition (HCCI) engines can be found in Chapter 1. The components of the experimental set-up used throughout this thesis—time-of-flight mass spectrometer, Excimer laser, vacuum pumps and other components—and the components of ALS responsible in synchrotron radiation generation and processing—the linear accelerator, the booster ring, insertion devices, gas filters and monochromator are explained in …

Electrolyte Effects On The Kinetics Of Comproportionation Electron-Transfer Reactions And On Intervalence Charge-Transfer Band Energies Of Binuclear Ruthenium Ammine Complexes, Zhiji Han

Master's Theses

Chapter 1 describes an overview of electron-transfer reactions. The kinetic equations for ET reactions have also been described in detail.

Chapter 2 describes a series of novel kinetic accelerations which deviate strongly from the predictions of the classical Debye-Huckle theory with a range of different added “inert” electrolytes. The greater catalytic effects seen with the heavier halides and other catalytic electrolytes (especially certain dicarboxylates) indicate an important role for hole-transfer superexchange in the ET transition state. The hypothesis of a catalytic ternary association complex, [RuII--X--RuIII] has also been explored by kinetic modeling of the reaction. An increasing ratio of anion-catalyzed …

Investigations Of Thioether Generation For S-D-Ribosyl-L-Homocysteine Synthesis, Brendan Corcoran

Master's Theses

Creation of the thioether linkage is a fundamental step for the chemical preparation of the bacterial quorum sensing molecule S-D-ribosyl-L-homocysteine (SRH). Although previous preparations of SRH and its analogues have been reported in the literature, they employ assorted methods with varied results. Therefore, a reassessment of the methodology used for synthetic preparation of the thioether bond in SRH-like molecules is here considered. This work examines four methods of thioether generation following two mechanisms, bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (S_N2) and radical-initiated thiol-ene coupling, in an attempt to generate SRH in a more efficient and reproducible manner. Both mechanisms address …

Furanic Molecules: Multiplexed Synchrotron Photoionization Investigations And Aerosol Studies, Audrey R. Smith

Master's Theses

The oxidation reactions of 2-methylfuran (2MF) and 2-ethylfuran (2EF) initiated by Cl radicals is studied at the low temperatures, in addition to the determination of the absolute photoionization cross-sections of 2EF, 2-acetylfuran, and furfural. These experiments are carried out using synchrotron photoionization mass spectrometry (SPIMS) with an orthogonal time-of-flight spectrometer used for mass analysis at the Advanced Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. CBS-QB3 calculated adiabatic ionization energies (AIE) agree well with the experimental results and published literature values. Furfural is found to be the dominant product of 2MF oxidation, with 2-acetylfuran and 2-vinylfuran being the dominant products of …