Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Commons^™

The Study Of Corrosion On Additive-Manufactured Metals., Braydan Daniels

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate and compare the corrosion mechanisms between wrought and additive-manufactured (3D-printed) copper and stainless steel. The experimental procedure consisted of measuring the open circuit potential, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, linear sweep voltammetry, Tafel analysis, surface topology, and scanning electron microscopy for each metal within salt water, tap water, sulfuric acid, and synthetic body fluid (excluding copper in synthetic body fluid).

Overall, printed stainless steel was more corrosion-resistant than wrought stainless steel in tap water and synthetic body fluid based on OCP, LSV, and surface topology results. Additionally, printed copper was more corrosion-resistant than wrought …

Intersections Of Environmentalism, Chemistry, And Racism: An Experimental Study Of Halobenzene Hydrogenolysis And Critical Communication Studies Of Equitable Learning Practices Rooted In Black Feminism, Lauren O. Babb

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increasing concentrations of fluorinated aromatic compounds in surface water, groundwater, and soil pose threats to the environment. Fundamental studies that elucidate mechanisms of dehalogenation for C-X compounds (where X represents a halide) are required to develop effective remediation strategies. For halogenated benzenes, previously published research has suggested that the strength of the C-X bond is not rate-determining in the overall rate of dehalogenation. Instead, the rate-determining step has been hypothesized to be adsorption of the C-X compound onto the surface of a catalyst. Building on this hypothesis, in this work, we examine the reaction kinetics of fluorobenzene conversion to benzene, …

Structural, Charge Transport, Gas Sensing, Magnetic, Pseudocapacitive, And Electrocatalytic Properties Of Perovskite Oxides., Surendra Bahadur Karki

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perovskites are functional materials with the general formula ABO₃ (A = alkali, alkaline earth or lanthanoid cations and B = transition metal or main group cations). These materials are marked by a variety of crystal structures and interesting properties such as colossal magnetoresistance, ferroelectricity, multiferroicity, superconductivity, pseudocapacitance, gas sensing, charge transport, and electrocatalytic properties. The formula of perovskite can be written as AA’BB’O₆, when there is ordering between two cations over A and B-sites. Such compounds are called double perovskite oxides. Some amount of oxygen could be lost from crystal structure without decomposition of the phase. Such …

Understanding Biomass Upgrading Through Hydrogenolysis Reactions: Kinetics And Mechanism, Jalal Tavana

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation involves several hydrogenolysis reactions but is mainly focused on hydrodechlorination (HDC) of chlorobenzene (PhCl) and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) of 2-furancarboxylic acid (FCA). Hydrodechlorination of PhCl has been the subject of research for some time. Here, we used a Pd/C catalyst to study this reaction though rigorous kinetics and mechanistic analyses in a CSTR reactor. The H₂/D₂ kinetic isotope effect (KIE) experiment revealed that H₂ is not involved in a rate controlling step. The kinetics data are in agreement with similar systems reported before and follow a first-order dependence on chlorobenzene, half order for hydrogen and …

Mechanistic Studies Of Reducible Metal Oxides As Hydrodeoxygenation Catalysts, Akbar Mahdavi Shakib

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hydrodeoxygenation of phenol to benzene using ruthenium supported titania catalysts strongly varies depending on the support crystal structure and preparation conditions. Here, we performed spectroscopic characterization of titania supports to identify the surface impurities common to commercial and synthesized titania samples using a variety of spectroscopic methods. Sulfate impurities were detected for the commercial anatase samples and a procedure for their elimination was proposed so that inactive catalysts gained reactivity. Surface hydroxyls of different TiO2 samples (anatase, rutile, and pyrogenic) were identified using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) experiments performed on vigorously cleaned surfaces and a facet-specific assignment …

Creating Renewable Tunable Polymers From Hydroxymethylfurfural, Meredith C. Allen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The research here deals with the conversion of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) into a tunable polymer. HMF is a known derivative that can be acquired from biomass via hydrolysis of cellulose followed by isomerization and finally selective dehydration. The process considered here is being developed to create tunable polymers from HMF and involves several different steps, three of which are covered here. The first step, an etherification, is the reaction of HMF with an alcohol. This step is significant because in this step the R-group from the alcohol is added to HMF and the branching portion formed is carried over to the …