Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Interface Engineering And Safety In Solid-State Batteries: Advancing From Human-Centered Insights To Ai-Driven Innovations, Elnaz Karimi, Stefan Iglauer, Muhammad Rizwan Azhar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Solid-state batteries (SSBs) represent a transformative advancement in energy storage, offering superior safety, higher energy density and extended cycle life compared to conventional lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, challenges related to interface engineering—particularly in ensuring stable electrochemical performance and preventing lithium dendrite formation—have hindered their widespread adoption and can compromise safety. Effective interface engineering is critical for mitigating interfacial resistance, enhancing mechanical stability and preventing thermal runaway, all of which are vital for improving battery reliability. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in this context accelerates battery optimization by enabling predictive modelling of interfacial behaviour, material discovery …

Design Of Tertiary Z-Scheme Cuo–Zno@Mxene Photocatalyst With Superior Visible-Light Activity For Decomposition Of Nanoplastics, Ahmad Najafidoust, Javad Farahbakhsh, Roham Ghanbari, Mohadeseh Najafi, Alireza Keshavarz, Stefan Iglauer, Masoumeh Zargar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Plastic pollution has resulted in the widespread accumulation of nanoplastics (NPs) in aquatic environments, highlighting the need for innovative remediation strategies. In this study, a tertiary z-scheme CuO–ZnO/MXene nanocomposite was developed for the visible-light-assisted degradation of polyethylene-based NPs. ZnO particles were doped with 8 % CuO to form a p-n type heterojunction, and the resulting CuO–ZnO nanoparticles were anchored onto two-dimensional MXene sheets through a sono-precipitation dispersion method, forming a ternary z-scheme photocatalyst with enhanced surface area. The composite exhibited a low electron-hole recombination rate and a tunable band gap (~2.55 eV), enabling efficient visible-light absorption. Under visible light irradiation, …

Experimental Measurement Demonstration Of Initial And Steady-State Heights Of A Co2 Vertical Jet Fountain In Still Air, Brock Mcrae

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Atmospheric releases of heavier-than-air gases pose acute near-field hazards in low wind, yet the near-source behavior of vertical dense-gas jets in still air is sparsely documented. This thesis demonstrates a repeatable laboratory method for measuring the initial and steady-state rise heights of a carbon dioxide (CO₂) jet issued vertically from a floor nozzle in the CHRC ultra-low-speed wind tunnel under still-air conditions. Controlled mixtures (pure CO₂, 50/50 CO₂-air, 25/75 CO₂-air) were released at four flow rates (75, 100, 125, 150 LPM) with five repeats per condition. A fixed camera and tape-measure scale enabled video extraction of jet height using Kinovea …

Calibration And Validation Of Cyclic Stretching Platform For Stiffness Testing Of Engineered Heart Tissue, Jillian Welsh

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cardiac fibrosis (CF) is a major contributor to the high mortality rate of heart failure which affects over 23 million people worldwide. CF involves cardiac fibroblasts depositing extracellular matrix, made primarily of collagen type I, which stiffens the heart walls over time. As testing new drugs for CF is deterred by the high cost and time required for animal and clinical trials, this research helps to solve the problem by providing an in vitro platform to study fibrosis.

The work involved creating tissues containing human cardiac fibroblast (HCFB) cells. Spring testing was conducted to determine the force applied by the …

Advanced Membrane Methods For Treatment Of Toxic Contaminants And Education Of Early-Career Researchers, Thomas Mckean Iii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Membrane technologies are attractive as they are linearly scalable and often require lower operating costs compared to other technologies. One area where they are particularly effective is the treatment of water contaminated with toxic substances. The simplicity of this removal mechanism provides reliable performance capable of meeting stringent removal requirements. However, membrane fouling is a major challenge that often limits their commercial viability. This research sought to investigate novel approaches to pretreatment and membrane modification to overcome fouling and high operating pressures. In addition, membrane separation processes can often be developed into simple yet educational experiments that are ideal for …

Purifying Circular Rna Therapeutics, Karen Guillen-Cuevas

All Dissertations

Circular RNA (circRNA) has emerged as a promising therapeutic modality due to its enhanced stability and resistance to exonuclease degradation compared with linear mRNA. However, its stability and functionality depend strongly on achieving high purity, and current methods such as size-exclusion chromatography suffer from peak overlap, low yields, and poor scalability. This dissertation addresses these limitations by developing ultrafiltration-based strategies to purify circRNA directly from in vitro transcription (IVT) and self-splicing (circularization) reactions. First, the feasibility of ultrafiltration was demonstrated using polyethersulfone membranes, where sieving coefficients and critical flux values of circRNA, precursor RNA, and nicked RNA were measured to …

The Microbial Factor In Subsurface Hydrogen Behavior: Implications For Wettability And Interfacial Dynamics, Hamid Esfandyari, Raziallah Jafari Jozani, Aliakbar Hassanpouryouzband, Farhid Hemmatzadeh, Manouchehr Haghighi, Stefan Iglauer, Alireza Keshavarz, Abbas Zeinijahromi

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Microbial activity plays a significant role in subsurface hydrogen behavior, with implications for underground storage and natural hydrogen systems. This study examines how microbial processes influence the wettability and solid–liquid interfacial characteristics of key subsurface minerals, calcite, dolomite, quartz, and gypsum, in hydrogen-brine-rock systems under realistic subsurface conditions. Wettability directly affects hydrogen distribution, flow dynamics, and trapping, making it a critical factor for both storage and natural recovery applications. Experiments were conducted under high-pressure, high-temperature conditions, with SEM/EDS analysis used to characterize interfacial modifications and mineral surface changes across three scenarios: clean, organic acid-aged, and microbial-aged. Microbial aging consistently increased …

The Significant Impact Of Hot Isostatic Pressing On The Corrosion Behavior Of Ti-6al-4v Alloy Prepared By Electron Beam Powder Bed Fusion, Hongyu Zheng, Yun Bai, Wentao Hou, Zirong Zhai, Lai Chang Zhang, Shujun Li, Rui Yang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This work investigated the effect of hot isostatic pressing (HIP) on the corrosion behavior of Ti-6Al-4V samples prepared by electron beam powder bed fusion (EB-PBF). After the HIP treatment, the TiO2 content decreased but the growth rate of passivation films increased, leading to increase in internal defect density, thereby degrading the corrosion resistance. Amongst the different factors impacted by HIP including pore defects, β-phase, texture and morphology of α-phase, the morphology of α-phase played a dominant role in determining the corrosion performance of EB-PBF processed alloy.

Sulfurized Serpentine And Perovskite Assisted Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanocomposites For Photocatalytic Green Hydrogen Production, Yahia Alanizan

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Green hydrogen production has received great attention in recent years as a solution to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions resulted by burning fossil fuels. This thesis focuses on development of photocatalytic water splitting green hydrogen production under visible light irradiation of g-C3N4 based sulfurized naturally occurring serpentine rock and oxysulfide perovskite nanocomposites. This work reveals the effect of partial sulfurization of co-catalysts to boost charge generation, charge transfer, and light absorption. The presented work determined the potential of sulfurizing naturally occurring rocks and minerals acting as support and enhanced co-catalysts that exhibit narrower band gaps, with sulfur rich sites for visible …

Fluorosilane-Induced Softening And Collapse Of Micropillar Arrays, Gabriela Moreira Lana, Maja Fehlberg, Petra Herbeck-Engel, Gisela Heppe, Raimund Schlüßler, Torsten Jähnke, Eduard Arzt, Roland Bennewitz

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

Replica molding is a widely used technique for the fabrication of polymer microstructures. As structural dimensions decrease, anti-stick surface treatment of the mold becomes increasingly critical to ensure clean demolding and preserve structural integrity. We fabricated arrays of micropillars with 20 µm diameter and 60 µm height using medical-grade polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), MDX4-4210, and observed a high fraction of collapsed pillars for the first molding after fluorosilanization of the mold to reduce sticking. To address this issue, we systematically investigated the surface treatment protocol for the molds, made from the PDMS Sylgard 184. We provide results from complementary measurement methods, to …

Development Of A Digestion Procedure Using Fe2+ Ions For Electrochemical Detection Of Mno2 Particles In Drinking Water, Kayla Elliott, Sarah Jane Payne, Zhe She

Journal of Electrochemistry

Developing methods for detection contaminants in drinking water is essential to ensuring that safe and acceptable quality drinking water is delivered to consumers. While manganese (Mn) was previously known only as a mere aesthetic issue, recent epidemiological data has shown to have negative neurological effects on humans, especially on children, prompting new health-based guidelines by Health Canada and the World Health Organization. In drinking water, Mn exists predominantly as Mn(II) and Mn(IV), and is regulated based on total Mn levels. Interestingly, measurement of Mn particulate using electroanalytical methods has not yet been reported in the literature. Herein, a digestion procedure …

Biocompatible And Antibacterial Pcl-Tio2@Ag/Γ-Cd Mof Nanocomposite Coating For Corrosion Resistance Of Magnesium Alloy In Simulated Body Fluid, Sara Dehghan-Chenar, Hamid R. Zare, Zahra Mohammadpour, Maryam Sadat Mirbagheri-Firoozabad

Journal of Electrochemistry

Magnesium alloys are promising candidates for bio-implant applications due to their biodegradability and biocompatibility. However, their rapid corrosion remains a critical limitation. This study presents the development of a multifunctional nanocomposite coating designed to enhance the corrosion resistance and antibacterial properties of magnesium alloy implants. The coating comprised γ-cyclodextrin metal-organic frameworks (γ-CD MOFs) decorated with TiO₂@Ag core-shell nanoparticles, embedded in a polycaprolactone (PCL) matrix. Immersion tests in a simulated body fluid (SBF) revealed an initially higher corrosion rate for the PCL-TiO₂@Ag/γ-CD MOF coating compared to the coating without TiO₂@Ag nanoparticles; however, it demonstrated significant …

Thermo-Chemical Recycling Of Waste Plastics Containing Halogenated Polymers (Br−, Cl−, F−) Using Potential Additives, Mohamed Shafi

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Plastic waste handling is a daunting task due to the presence of halogenated polymers, specifically those cluttered with bromine (Br), chlorine (Cl), and fluorine (F). Halogenated plastics can be mixed with other polymers in the general plastic waste, particularly in the recycling stream. Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) are mainly present in e-waste and from the use of flame retardants in household items, textiles, and furniture. Plastics from discarded electronics often contain significant levels of bromine and chlorine, predominantly from flame retardants and plasticizers. Being the most deployed thermoplastic worldwide, waste polyvinyl chloride (PVC) generation is expected to increase by about …

Predicting Simulation Times For Multiphase Thermal-Hydraulic Models, Andrew Yule, Andrew Taylor

SMU Data Science Review

Addressing the challenge of computationally intensive OLGA

simulations in the oil and gas industry, a machine learning framework is

developed for accurate runtime prediction. A specialized feature extraction

pipeline identifies key parameters—such as simulation time, time step,

number of branches, and section count—from OLGA input files that serve as

high-impact predictors. Multiple predictive models, including regression,

tree-based ensembles, and neural networks, are implemented to validate

accuracy and robustness. Results reveal that prioritizing simulations based on

predicted runtimes optimizes licensing resources and reduces operational

costs, making real-time scheduling more efficient. This research demonstrates

the effectiveness of data-driven runtime prediction in enhancing …

Development Of Composite Membranes And Nanofluid Absorbents Incorporating Surface-Functionalized Nanoparticles For Enhanced Co₂ Absorption In Gas–Liquid Membrane Contactors, Riya Ahammed Labeeb

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Natural gas sweetening demands the efficient removal of CO₂ to enhance heating value and prevent equipment corrosion. Gas–liquid membrane contactors (GLMCs) have garnered attention as promising solutions to traditional separation methods due to their modularity, high interfacial area, and energy efficiency. Nonetheless, they suffer from some serious challenges such as membrane wetting, while absorbents either exhibit low absorption capacity or high energy demands and corrosion. This work addresses these limitations through two complementary strategies. In the first, ZnO nanoparticles were hydrophobically functionalised and incorporated into polymer matrices to fabricate composite membranes with superior hydrophobicity and reduced pore wetting. In the …

A Novel Drug-Loaded Injectable Hydrogel System Using Oxidized Inulin And Pluronic F-127 With Β-Cyclodextrin Nanocrystals For Ocular Defect Treatment, Salama Al Dhaheri

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

The human eyes have the most complex and advanced defence mechanisms. Due to this barrier, efficient treatment of ocular disorders is always a crucial issue, especially while treating the posterior segment of the eyes. Most of the diseases occurring in the posterior segment of the eyes include age-related macular degeneration, retinitis, diabetic retinopathy and uveitis. Topical and systemic administration of drugs, intravitreal injection, and insertion of non-biodegradable implants are several different approaches employed to treat ocular diseases. These methods have shown promising results in treating age-related macular degeneration but require higher dosage and multiple administration of the drug to the …

Bioactive Membrane System For Efficient Emerging Pollutants Treatment, Ayat El Telib El Tayeb

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Emerging pollutants (EPs), such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products, are increasingly detected in municipal wastewater due to household discharge and improper industrial disposal. Their persistence and ecological risks pose major challenges to conventional treatment technologies. Among advanced options, membrane filtration, particularly microfiltration and ultrafiltration, has gained prominence for its efficiency and scalability. However, membrane fouling, especially biological and chemical fouling, remains a critical barrier, accounting for nearly half of total energy consumption and requiring frequent use of harsh chemical cleaning agents that further burden the environment.

This PhD research addresses these challenges by developing and evaluating hybrid bioactive enzyme-active …

Synergistic Doping And Coating Strategy For Boosting Na0.7mno2 Cathode Performance In Sodium-Ion Batteries, Ahmad Helaley, Han Yu, Manashi Nath, Xinhua Liang

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Advancing sodium-ion battery (SIB) technology requires novel approaches to optimize cathode materials for improved electrochemical performance. In this study, we employ atomic layer deposition (ALD) to precisely modify the surface of P2-type Na_0.7MnO₂ cathodes with different coating materials including ZnO, NiO, and Al₂O₃, followed by post-annealing at 750°C for 10 hours. The strategic combination of ALD and thermal treatment can achieve thin film coating on particle surface and promote element doping into the near-surface lattice, as confirmed by electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) analysis. The incorporation of Zn, Al, and Ni results in …

Optimization Of Bioethanol From Plantain Peel Using Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, Akinjide A. Akinola, Olawole O. Olanipekun, Paul A. David

Mansoura Engineering Journal

This research aimed to evaluate the potential of using plantain peels as a raw material for producing bioethanol with the help of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The study utilized a four-factor Box-Behnken design (BBD) and response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize the fermentation conditions. The factors considered for optimization were substrate concentration (1-4 g), pH (5-7), temperature (30-45°C), and fermentation time (24-96 hours). Through this optimization process, the study found that the optimal conditions for bioethanol production were 4 g substrate concentration, pH 6, 45°C temperature, and 60 hours of fermentation time. Utilizing these optimal conditions resulted in a bioethanol yield of …

Core-Scale Study Of Miscible Co2 Foam–Oil Interactions, Kuvonchbek Abdirakhmonov

Thesis/ Dissertation Defenses

Foam is currently the most effective means for gas mobility control in a variety of geo-energy applications (Rossen et al., 2020), including enhanced oil recovery (EOR), carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), and aquifer/soil remediation. This study investigates the mobility control of miscible CO2 foam in the presence of oil for CCUS. The primary objective is to quantify the impact of oil on CO2 foam behavior under miscible conditions, specifically examining foam stability, strength, and flow regimes as influenced by oil composition and reservoir permeability. While most oils destabilize foam, few studies explore the coarsening mechanisms of CO2 foam in …