Engineering Commons^™

Applying Computational Methods To Interpret Experimental Results In Tribology And Enantioselective Catalysis, Michael Garvey

Theses and Dissertations

Computational methods are rapidly becoming a mainstay in the field of chemistry. Advances in computational methods (both theory and implementation), increasing availability of computational resources and the advancement of parallel computing are some of the major forces driving this trend.

It is now possible to perform density functional theory (DFT) calculations with chemical accuracy for model systems that can be interrogated experimentally. This allows computational methods to supplement or complement experimental methods. There are even cases where DFT calculations can give insight into processes and interactions that cannot be interrogated directly by current experimental methods.

This work presents several examples …

An Experimental Investigation Characterizing The Tribological Performance Of Natural And Synthetic Biolubricants Composed Of Carboxylic Acids For Energy Conservation And Sustainability, Carlton Jonathan Reeves

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last several decades the lubrication industry has been striving to bring bio-based lubricants known as biolubricants to prominence. The reasons for the increased environmental initiatives are due to depletion of oil reserves, increases in oil price, stringent government regulations on petroleum-based oils, and most importantly, concerns for protecting the environment. With an estimated, 50% of all lubricants entering the environment and much of these being composed of toxic mineral oils, biolubricants have begun to witness a resurgence. This experimental investigation seeks to develop a new class of ecofriendly biolubricants that are less toxic to the environment, derived from …

Probing Bonding And Dynamics At Heterogeneous Adsorbate/Graphene Interfaces, Eric Charles Mattson

Theses and Dissertations

Graphene-based materials are becoming an astoundingly promising choice for many relevant technological and environmental applications. Deriving graphene from the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) is becoming a popular and inexpensive route toward the synthesis of these materials. While the desired product from GO reduction is pristine graphene, defects and residual oxygen functional groups inherited from the parent GO render reduced graphene oxide (RGO) distinct from graphene. In this work, the structure and bonding for GO and RGO is investigated to the end of a working understanding of the composition and properties of these materials. In situ selected area electron diffraction …

Functional Organic Nanomaterials, Ryan R. Kohlmeyer

Theses and Dissertations

π-Conjugated polymers have a wide range of applications such as photovoltaics, light-emitting diodes, and sensors. To gain a better understanding of these systems, monodisperse oligomers can be used as a more simplistic model to generate predictive structural and physical properties of corresponding polymers. A divergent/convergent synthetic approach to synthesis of monodisperse π-conjugated oligomers has been developed. These well-defined, thiophene-containing molecular building blocks have been successfully coupled to a ferrocene hinge, which has been found to be highly efficient in the transport of gold atoms using a gold scanning tunneling microscopy tip.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) represent a rare class of materials, …

Infrared Light Induced Bending Of Liquid Crystalline Elastomer Composite-Silicone Bilayer Films, Maika Moua

Theses and Dissertations

This research centers on infrared (IR) light-induced bending of liquid crystalline elastomers (LCE) composite-silicone bilayer films. Two new developments are presented in this thesis. First, the reversible infrared (IR) induced bending of 0.1% (w/w) single walled nanotube (SWNT)-LCE/silicone bilayer films were successfully prepared and used for fabrication of functioning devices such as folding, grabbing, and crawling structures. Second, the use of adding a filler (absorbs specific wavelength range), such as Dye 1002, into the LCE matrix achieved wavelength selectivity in LCE systems. The 0.2% (wt/wt) Dye 1002-LCE/silicone bilayer films demonstrated bending under a 980 nm laser source but no bending …