Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

A Gas Flow-Through System For Hydrogen Isotopic Separation With Metal-Organic Frameworks, Katharine Harp Rigdon

Honors Papers

In this thesis, we designed and built a gas flow-through system to study dynamic adsorption separation of hydrogen isotopes in metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are porous, crystalline materials composed of metal complexes connected by organic linkers. They have been proposed as a cheaper, more energy efficient approach to hydrogen isotope separation than current industrial methods. We have previously found evidence of a zero-point energy-based separation mechanism for hydrogen isotopes in two MOFs: Co-MOF-74 and Cu(I)-MFU-4l. This mechanism, chemical affinity quantum sieving (CAQS), has been extensively studied under static equilibrium conditions. The system in this work was developed so that CAQS …

Model Of The One-Dimensional Molecular Hydrogen Cation, Joseph Galamba

Honors Papers

The hydrogen molecule ion is the simplest molecule, consisting of only two protons and an electron. As such, understanding this problem is essential in order to extend quantum mechanical techniques to more complex molecules such as the next simplest hydrogen molecule. The non-ionized hydrogen molecule represents the simplest system with only axial symmetry exhibiting Pauli exclusion principle effects due to the two identical electrons (fermions) in the neutral molecule. Both molecules have been treated in great detail both experimentally and theoretically and the nature of their solutions and energies are well understood.

Dimensional scaling of the problem can provide insight …

Infrared Spectroscopy Of H2 Trapped In Metal Organic Frameworks, Jesse Bennett Hopkins

Honors Papers

In this thesis we examine the hydrogen storage properties of four different materials. Because of the global climate crisis and the growing realization that petroleum resources are limited, there has been a strong push to find alternative means of energy storage. At the forefront of this push is the hydrogen economy, the idea that hydrogen gas is a bountiful, clean, alternative means of energy storage. One step towards realizing the hydrogen economy is finding a practical means of hydrogen storage.

The conventional methods of hydrogen storage are in high-pressure gas cylinders or as a liquid. Both of these methods are …

Low-Temperature Infrared Spectroscopy Of H2 In Solid C60, Hugh O.H. Churchill

Honors Papers

Diffuse reflectance infrared spectroscopy is used to measure the quantum dynamics of molecular hydrogentrapped within a C60 lattice at temperatures as low as 10 K. Crystal field effects in conjunction with rotational translational coupling lead to a rich spectrum with multiply split peaks that are more than an order of magnitude sharper than at room temperature. The induced redshifts in the vibrational-rotational mode frequencies are explained using a simple model in which the state dependence of the H2 polarizability leads to changes in the C60-H2 interaction potential.