Materials Science and Engineering Commons^™

Performance Evaluation Of Aminated Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Incorporated With Green Synthesized Iron Nanoparticles For Toxic Dyes Sequestration From Textile Wastewater, Titus Chinedu Egbosiuba, Cynthia Chukwuemeka, Jonah Chukwudi Umeuzuegbu, Nwanneka Chibuzo Mmonwuba, Ugochukwu Ewuzie, Monday Uchenna Okoronkwo, Valentine Chikaodili Anadebe, Saheed Mustapha, Ambali Saka Abdulkareem, Jimoh Oladejo Tijani, Ashish Patel, Virendra Kumar Yadav

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering Faculty Research & Creative Works

This study evaluates the performance of aminated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (AM-MWCNTs) integrated with zerovalent iron nanoparticles (ZVI) synthesized using cashew leaf (Anacardium occidentale) extract (AM-MWCNTs@ZVI) for the removal of Congo Red (CR) and Methylene Blue (MB) dyes from textile industrial wastewater. The nanocomposite was characterized using FTIR, XRD, BET, HRSEM, and HRTEM analyses, confirming its functional groups, crystalline structure, and enhanced surface area of 1050.4 m²/g. The ecological risk degree of the textile pollutants was assessed to determine the percentage concentrations of crystal violet, Congo red, methyl orange, methylene blue and rhodamine B. Batch adsorption experiments identified optimal …

Multimodal Self-Folding Of Shape Memory Polymer Using Laser Induced Graphene, Liam Harrison Drew

Master's Theses

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) can undergo programmed shape transformations when heated above their glass transition temperature (T_g), enabling actuation through stimuli such as infrared (IR) radiation and Joule heating. These materials are promising for deployable systems and soft robotics due to their lightweight structure and elimination of traditional mechanical components. While IR-based actuation is simple and low-cost, it lacks precision in uncontrolled environments. Joule heating offers improved control but is often limited by conductive ink properties such as thickness, stiffness, or poor adhesion. This work introduces a novel method for multimodal SMP actuation using laser-induced graphene (LIG) transferred …

Energy Conversion Materials: Computational Design Of Electrocatalysts Toward Sustainable Energy Applications, Courtney M. Brea

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

As the global-scale need for sustainable energy technologies emerges due to anthropogenic climate change, electrocatalysis plays a crucial role in facilitating many sustainable processes. Several heterogenous cathode materials can perform different electrochemical activities using water, oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide to deliver renewable electricity and value-added chemicals. By using the density functional theory method, it is possible to explore the structural and electronic properties that govern a catalysts’ activity and selectivity. In this thesis, we start by exploring 48 reconstructed transition metal dichalcogenides edges (MX₂, M = Mo, W; X = S, Se, Te) for carbon dioxide reduction reaction …

Effect Of Manufacturing And Machining Process On Recycled Composite Connecting Rods Under Tension And Compression, Walter W. Oppelt

Master's Theses

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is an engineering material renowned for its high-strength and low-density material properties. Such properties make CFRPs especially useful for applications across many industries, including aerospace, automotive, marine, sporting goods, oil and gas, and more. However, with such favorable material properties comes the cost of high energy usage required to produce raw carbon fiber. Recycled carbon fiber (rCF) has emerged as a promising alternative, offering a significant reduction in energy usage. This research explores the viability of applying recycled CFRPs to internal combustion engines to both reduce energy costs during manufacturing and while in use. Mechanical …

Ni-Mn-In Heusler Alloy Ribbon For Magnetocaloric Application, Bao Nguyen

Masters Theses

A traditional cooling system, which applies compression technology within the working fluid, has had a lot of negative impacts on the environment and has low efficiency. They have almost reached the thermodynamic efficiency; there is little room for further improvement. Therefore, solid-state cooling systems, especially those that use the magnetocaloric effect (MCE), have drawnmuch interest as an alternative solution for the vapor-compression system. The Heusler alloy, especially Ni-Mn-In in this research, can be an excellent candidate for this application due to its unique properties, such as the shape memory effect and giant MCE. Their giant MCE results from a first-order …

3d Printed Fixed Wing Aircraft Competition, Sidney E. Long, Mitchell Heise, Jack Bride, Daniel Salinas

Mechanical Engineering

Cal State LA and Arlington University, Texas are hosting the same 3D printed, fixed wing aircraft competition for 2025. Cal Poly requires a competitive plane that can adhere to each rule and be piloted remotely to achieve the longest time in the air. The plane must utilize solely 3D printing technology for the wings, body, and all other structures. The only off-the-shelf components can be the motor and electronics, as well as mechanical devices such as hinges.

Thermal Modeling Techniques For Additively Manufactured Porous Metals, Lucas D. Rambo

Master's Theses

Advances in additive manufacturing have enabled the creation of metallic components with tailored porosity, offering design flexibility for thermal, structural, and fluid transport applications. This thesis investigates the effective thermal conductivity (ETC) of porous Inconel 625 (IN625) and Inconel-ceramic composites (IN625-RAM2) fabricated by Laser Powder Bed Fusion (LPBF) using Elementum 3D’s PermiAM technology. Experimental measurements of thermal conductivity using the laser flash method are compared to numerical models built from micro-computed tomography data. Simulations were performed using both finite element (FE) and finite volume (FV) methods to evaluate thermal transport in real microstructures. The study investigates the effects of micro- …

Comparative Study Of Experimental And Fea Strain Data For Cnt-Coated Fiberglass Sensors, Extensometers, And Metal Foil Strain Gauges, Omar Dwidar

Master's Theses

Material testing is essential across industries such as aerospace, automotive, and construction, playing a critical role in verifying material selection, diagnosing failures, and understanding the development of flaws in structures. These insights are key to designing successful, reliable systems. Conventional metal foil strain gauges are low cost and reliable but provide limited sensitivity with a typical gauge factor around 2. Extensometers provide highly sensitive strain measurements with the disadvantage of a bulky form factor. With advanced materials such as carbon nanotubes, it is possible to manufacture a sensor with the sensitivity closer to that of an extensometer with the small …

Myceli-Yum: Elucidating Structure-Property Relationships For Polymer Degradation By Mycelial Digestion, Jordan Scott Ford

Master's Theses

Since the industrial entrance of polymer plastic materials, plastic has become ubiquitous in both everyday use and waste. Due to inefficiencies and knowledge gaps, current recycling methods are not able to account for the high scale of plastic waste, resulting in the bulk of this waste being landfilled, mishandled, and deposited in the environment. Mycelium, the microorganism responsible for fruiting mushroom bodies and mold growth, holds potential to reduce plastic waste and can potentially be utilized as a method of industrial recycling. Following a drug-design approach, the active site of mycelial enzymes responsible for natural biopolymer degradation have been assessed …

Colloidal Quantum Dots: A Path Toward Making Mid-Wave Infrared Sensing A Ubiquitous Technology, Mohammad Mostafa Al Mahfuz

Dissertations

Reducing the size, weight, power consumption, and cost (SWaP-C) of infrared detectors could make infrared sensing more widely accessible. In the critical mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) spectral range of 3-5 gm, commercially available detectors are limited by the high costs associated with epitaxial growth and hybridization, as well as the need for cryogenic cooling. These factors restrict their use to defense and space applications.

Colloidal quantum dots present a promising material for overcoming these challenges, with wafer-scale monolithic integration and Auger suppression being the key material capabilities to minimize the sensor's SWaP-C. Infrared sensors based on colloidal quantum dots have been …

Designing Between Worlds, Levon Kostandyan

Masters Theses

This thesis reimagines design as a means of cultural continuity—an act of memory, resistance, and transformation. Rooted in the diasporic Armenian experience, it explores how identity is carried not only through storytelling, but through materials, rituals, and objects that evolve across time and place. Through the transformation of pomegranate skin from waste into a meaningful design material, the project navigates the space between symbolism and substance, honoring both the fruit’s ancestral weight and its potential as a living material language.


The work moves between personal narrative, historical research, and material experimentation, engaging with themes of displacement, hybridity, and embedded knowledge. …

Interaction Of Liquid Phase Diisopropyl Methyl Phosphonate (Dimp) With Material Surrogates For Components Of Soil And Combustion Products Of Metal Fuels, Khushi Sunil Patel

Theses

Combustion products of three different Al-based materials, Al-CaCO₃, Al-SiO₂, and Al-Fe₂O₃ , have been produced to understand their interaction with liquid diisopropyl methyl phosphonate (DIMP), a surrogate for chemical weapon agents. The purpose of this is to see which materials were more effective at DIMP adsorption and decomposition at different temperatures. Prepared materials were characterized using electron microscopy, x-ray powder diffraction, and nitrogen adsorption. Prepared powders were submerged in DIMP and heated in a thermal analyzer, tracking the mass changes as a function of temperature. Surfaces of the recovered materials were studied using …

Fire Fossils: Biomineral Infrastructures In Untangling Climates, Tanmayee More

Masters Theses

Diatoms drift, sediments sink, wildfires generate their own weather. Lightning strikes can blast sand into glass, and microscopic organisms do the same in the cold recesses of the ocean. What alchemies and metabolisms catalyze space, time, and energy? What are the thermodynamics of infrastructure in Climate Change?

Places, materials, and beings are afterimages. Through alchemical experiments, and multi-scalar imaging, I develop simulations of wildfires, and their profound, reverberating effects. In this thesis, a glass-meets-landscape experimental process enters these obscured conditions and renders new material relations for the built environment.

Building Ecologies: Maintaining Land, Working With Wood, Taylor Jais

Masters Theses

This thesis critiques contemporary architecture and building practices for their fundamentally unsustainable and place-less assemblies that rely on extracting finite resources that generate significant emissions while simultaneously neglecting to consider the needs and existence of humans and non-human species with in the built environment. Through experimental material research that diverts “wood” waste streams and integrates land and multispecies care, this work demonstrates how maintenance-based approaches to construction can transform built assemblies into ecological systems. By deconstructing wood to its cellular components and recombining these elements in novel ways, this research reveals possibilities for collaborative, materials-driven, place-based building practices. This thesis …

Understanding The Morphology And Mass Transport Resistance Of Mesoporous Carbon-Supported Pemfc Based On Modeling Analysis, Hao Deng, Jia Liu, Zhong-Jun Hou

Journal of Electrochemistry

Mesoporous carbon supports mitigate Pt sulfonic poisoning through nanopore-confined Pt deposition, yet their morphological impacts on oxygen transport remain unclear. This study integrates carbon support morphology simulation with an enhanced agglomerate model to establish a mathematical framework elucidating pore evolution, Pt utilization, and oxygen transport in catalyst layers. Results demonstrate dominant local mass transport resistance governed by three factors: (1) active site density dictating oxygen flux; (2) ionomer film thickness defining shortest transport path; (3) ionomer-to-Pt surface area ratio modulating practical pathway length. At low ionomer-to-carbon (I/C) ratios, limited active sites elevate resistance (Factor 1 dominant). Higher I/C ratios improve …

Preparation And Modification Of Mxene Composites For Application In Electrochemical Energy Storage, Zhang-Hai You, Ding-Ze Lu, Kiran Kumar Kondamareddy, Wen-Ju Gu, Peng-Fei Cheng, Jing-Xuan Yang, Rui Zheng, Hong-Mei Wang

Journal of Electrochemistry

With the acceleration of advanced industrialization and urbanization, the environment is deteriorating rapidly, and non-renewable energy resources are depleted. The gradual advent of potential clean energy storage technologies is particularly urgent. Electrochemical energy storage technologies have been widely used in multiple fields, especially supercapacitors and rechargeable batteries, as vital elements of storing renewable energy. In recent years, two-dimensional material MXene has shown great potential in energy and multiple application fields thanks to its excellent electrical properties, large specific surface area, and tunability. Based on the layered materials of MXene, researchers have successfully achieved the dual functions of energy storage and …

Theoretical Insights Into The Atomic And Electronic Structures Of Polyperyleneimide: On The Origin Of Photocatalytic Oxygen Evolution Activity, Yi-Qing Wang, Zhi Lin, Ming-Tao Li, Shao-Hua Shen

Journal of Electrochemistry

Polymeric perylene diimide (PDI) has been evidenced as a good candidate for photocatalytic water oxidation, yet the origin of the photocatalytic oxygen evolution activity remains unclear and needs further exploration. Herein, with crystal and atomic structures of the self-assembled PDI revealed from the X-ray diffraction pattern, the electronic structure is theoretically illustrated by the first-principles density functional theory calculations, suggesting the suitable band structure and the direct electronic transition for efficient photocatalytic oxygen evolution over PDI. It is confirmed that the carbonyl O atoms on the conjugation structure serve as the active sites for oxygen evolution reaction by the crystal …

Three-Dimensional Melamine Carbon Sponge/Nai As Cathode Materials For Sodium-Ion Batteries, Qian-Ying Huang, Yue Liu, Zi-Xin Lin, Shu-Yi Zheng, Ting-Ting Mei, Yu-Ting Tang, Ying-He Zhang, Jun Liu

Journal of Electrochemistry

The sodium-iodine (Na-I) battery exhibits significant potential as an alternative energy storage device to the lithium-ion battery. However, its development is hindered by inadequate electrical and thermal stability, as well as the dissolution and shuttling of polyiodide. In this study, we report a preparation method for melamine carbon sponge (MC) via carbonizing a commercially available kitchen sponge. It was revealed that the as-prepared MC, composed of unique self-growing carbon nanotubes, could provide both physical and chemical adsorption capabilities for intermediate polyiodides to improve the electrochemical performance of NaI. Consequently, the NaI/MC electrode effectively minimized polyiodide dissolution and reduced the electrochemical …

Optimization Of Renewable Energy Systems: Comparative Analysis Of Advanced Algorithms And Photovoltaic-Electrolyzer Performance For Cost Reduction And Efficiency Enhancement, Mohamed-Amine Babay, Mustapha Adar, Ahmed Chebak, Mustapha Mabroukia

Journal of Electrochemistry

The increasing demand for cost-effective and efficient renewable energy solutions presents significant optimization challenges in hybrid energy systems. This paper addresses these challenges by conducting a comparative analysis of three advanced optimization algorithms—Lévy Flight Optimization (LFO), Archimedean Optimization (AO), and Quantum Gorilla Optimization (QGO)—to minimize the Total Net Present Cost (TNPC) and Levelized Cost of Energy (LCOE) in hybrid renewable energy systems. The study integrates critical cost parameters such as Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), Operational Expenditure (OPEX), replacement costs, and salvage values into an advanced optimization framework. Three system configurations are evaluated: Wind Turbines and Fuel Cells (WT/FC), Photovoltaic Systems and …

Using Predictive Analytics To Reduce Small Business Cost Estimation Error, Diana Solt

Journal of Applied Packaging Research

Small and medium packaging companies generally employ the use of custom-developed quoting programs to bid goods and services. Custom bid programs (e.g. Excel) are used to capture the company-specific costs of production. The inputs of variable costs, such as machine rate and scrap rate, are critical to get correct; however, companies often rely on educated guesses and industry expertise to quote packaging products to end-users. Due to the guesswork involved there can be a financial difference between the quoted costs and actual costs. This variance is often the cause of significant lost dollars. Price, if not determined correctly, could negatively …