Engineering Commons^™

High-Pressure Studies On The Transition From Red Phosphorus To Black Phosphorus, Heng Xiang

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Black phosphorus (BP) is a promising material in many research fields. However, the transition process from amorphous red phosphorus (ARP) is elusive and hence hinders large scale synthesis and applications. This work describes the application of the high-pressure method to study the transition process from ARP to BP.

In this thesis, the following three objectives were achieved: (1) to understand the mechanism of the transition, (2) to facilitate the synthesis of BP by taking the advantage of less pure ARP, (3) to propose new methods of synthesizing BP-based materials, such as the moderately oxidized BP and the black phosphorus/ amorphous …

Modelling Palladium Decorated Graphene Using Density Functional Theory To Analyze Hydrogen Sensing Application, Sameer Kulkarni

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Graphene is an exciting new material with many promising applications. One such application of graphene is gas sensing, when adsorbed with transition metals, notably Palladium. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to have appropriate ab initio calculations to calculate the various properties of graphene under different adsorbates and gasses. The first step in these calculations is to have a functioning base Density Functional Theory (DFT) model of pristine graphene decorated with Palladium. The computational methods described in this paper has yielded results for pristine graphene that have been confirmed many times in previous experimental and theoretical studies. Future work needs …

Synthesis, Characterization, And Evaluation Of Metal Complexes With Cancer Selective Anti-Proliferative Effects And Hydrogen Evolution Catalytic Properties., Nicholas Vishnosky

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Bis-thiosemicarbazones (BTSC) and their metal chelates have properties that are useful in several different scientific fields. These systems have already received attention in major fields of biology and engineering. Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) catalysts need to be cheap and operate under minimal overpotentials with a long lifetime. The treatment of cancer requires, novel agents that have potent cytotoxic activity against cancer cells while displaying minimal side effects. In this dissertation the modular synthesis of these bis-thiosemicarbazone systems is utilized to regulate the redox chemistry for employment in the desired sector of chemistry. The ligand and metal chelates synthesized were characterized …

Targeted Illumination Strategies For Hydrogen Production From Purple Non-Sulfur Bacteria, John D. Craven

Theses and Dissertations--Chemical and Materials Engineering

The movement towards a more sustainable energy economy may require not only the generation of cleaner fuel sources, but the conversion of waste streams into value-added products. Phototrophic purple non-sulfur bacteria are capable of metabolizing VFAs (volatile fatty acids)and generate hydrogen as a byproduct of nitrogen fixation using energy absorbed from light. VFAs are easily produced from dark anaerobic fermentation of food, agricultural, and municipal wastes, which could then be fed into photobioreactors of purple bacteria for hydrogen production.

The process of photofermentation by purple bacteria for hydrogen production remains attractive due to the capability of reaching high substrate conversions …