Catalysis and Reaction Engineering Commons^™

Identification Of Proximal And Isolated Aluminum Heteroatoms In Zeolites By Infrared Spectroscopy, Melanie A. Brunet Torres, Philip Kester, Rajamani Gounder

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

High demand for energy production and limited fossil fuel reserves are two factors that motivate intense research for new alternative energy resources. While we are still far from completely moving to renewable energy solutions, a new solution that replaces crude oil and coal with shale gas is currently under investigation. For this modern technology, new zeolite catalysts need to be developed for the conversion of light hydrocarbons gases to liquid transportation fuels. These catalysts are of special interest in the production of liquid fuels since they exhibit high reaction rates, molecular sieving properties and selectivity behavior. In this work, the …

Platinum-Gallium (Pt-Ga) Intermetallic Alloys For Propane Dehydrogenation, Brittany K. Roopnarine, Nicole J. Libretto, Johnny Zhuchen, Zhenwei Wu, Evan Wegener, Griffin Canning, Abhaya K. Datye, Jeffrey T. Miller

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Natural gas is a source of energy for the United States. The Center for Innovative Strategic Transformation of Alkane Resources (CISTAR) plans to use shale gas extracted from shale rock formations as a bridge fuel to replace coal and oil while the US transitions to renewable energy like solar and wind. After methane, the largest components in shale gas are light alkanes such as ethane and propane. These can be catalytically converted to olefins, which can be further reacted to produce fuels, for example. Olefins from alkanes can be accomplished by dehydrogenation by promoted platinum alloys. This study compares the …

Investigation Of The Effects Of Solid-State Treatments On The Structure And Mobility Of Copper In Zeolites, Jiayang Wu, Laura Wilcox, Rajamani Gounder

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Zeolites are microporous, aluminosilicate catalysts that play an important role in industrial applications as well as studies for the fundamental understanding of catalysts for emerging reactions of interest. The introduction of aluminum into the zeolite lattice introduces a negative charge on the framework that can be balanced with extra-framework cations. The control of the aluminum distribution and the choice of charge balancing cations allows for the ability to tailor the active sites to facilitate a desired reaction. This research focuses on studying copper active sites in zeolites. Copper oxide was used as a copper precursor to introduce copper ions in …

Computational Catalysis: Creating A User-Friendly Tool For Research And Education, Kevin P. Greenman, Peilin Liao

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Catalysis is used in a significant portion of production processes in the industrialized world, including most processing of chemicals and fuels. This makes maximizing the efficiency of catalysts a high priority. However, the immense number of candidates for new catalysts precludes the possibility of testing all of them by experiments. Density functional theory (DFT) has been widely and successfully used to calculate material properties relevant to catalysis and to screen promising candidates for experimental testing, but there currently exists no publicly- available, user-friendly tool for performing these DFT calculations. This work details the development of such a tool for nanoHUB.org …

Scaling Relationships Across Chemically Related Adsorbates For Fast Screening Of Alloy Catalysts For Propane Dehydrogenation, Anne Esther Serban, Ranga Rohit Seemakurthi, Brandon C. Bukowski, Jeffrey Greeley

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

A catalyst is a material which speeds up the rate of a specific reaction. A reaction that is of significant importance to the chemical industry is the selective transformations of light alkanes (ethane, propane), which are largely available in shale gas, to olefins. These olefins can then be converted into higher-value chemicals, materials, and fuels. However, there are several undesired reactions that take place alongside the main dehydrogenation reaction, so a catalyst of high selectivity is desired. Apart from the industrially used PtSn catalyst, work by our experimental collaborators has shown that various other Pt and Pd alloys (In, Zn) …

Electrocatalytic Properties Of Ni-Fe Basedalloys Toward Oxygen Evolution Reaction, Xiaodan Cui

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, laser-based manufacturing was applied to develop NiFe-based alloys, with focus on their electrochemical characteristics toward oxygen evolution reaction during water electrocatalysis. The targeted electrocatalysts were designed by combining catalysis principles of absorption energy, electronic effect and geometry effect. Firstly, a one-step laser-based manufacturing method was applied to prepare a thin layer of NiFe-based electrodes with varied Ni to Fe ratios to replace high-cost noble metals as the electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Since each Ni has 0.6 d-vacancy and each Fe atom has 2.2 d-vacancies. The alloying of Ni-Fe allows electrons flowing from Ni to Fe, …

Recent Progress For Fe-N-C Electrocatalysts In Alkaline Fuel Cells, Xin Deng, Heng-Quan Chen, Ye Hu, Qing-Gang He

Journal of Electrochemistry

Fuel cells are highly recommended nowadays due to their intrinsic advantages such as high energy conversion efficiency, nearly no pollution, and convenient operation. With the development of anion exchange membrane, alkaline fuel cells have gone through a renaissance thanks to their superiorities such as faster reaction kinetics, wider choices for both fuels and electrocatalysts. It is essential to find an appropriate electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to improve the performance of alkaline fuel cells. Further commercialization of the widely used Pt-based materials has suffered from disadvantages such as scarcity and high cost. As alternatives to largely investigated Pt-based materials, …

Pt/G-C3N4 Nanosheet For Visible Light-Induced Enhancement Of The Activity For Formic Acid Electro-Oxidation, Yong-Rong Sun, Chun-Yu Du, Guo-Kang Han, Ya-Jing Wang, Yun-Zhi Gao, Ge-Ping Yin

Journal of Electrochemistry

By using graphitic carbon nitride nanosheet (g-C₃N₄ nanosheet) as a support,Pt/g-C₃N₄ nanosheet catalyst was fabricated by microwave assisted polylol process. The nanoparticles size,composition,structure and optical properties of Pt/g-C₃N₄ nanosheet were characterized by TEM,XRD,XPS and UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. Comparing with the catalytic activities toward formic acid electro-oxidation under dark and visible light illumination,the superior activity of Pt/g-C₃N₄ nanosheet catalyst was achieved under visible light illumination. This visible light-driven enhancement in the formic acid performance could be attributed to the plasmon-induced electron-hole separation on g-C₃N₄ with …

Carbon Composite Fe3O4 Nanoparticles Based Electrochemical Sensor For Hydrogen Peroxide Detection, Si-Yu Zhang, Hui-Juan Wang, Shu-Fang Li, Jian-Ying Qu

Journal of Electrochemistry

In this work, a novel hydrogen peroxide electrochemical sensor was constructed with ferroferric oxide (Fe₃O₄) magnetic nanoparticles, which demonstrated good electrocatalytic activity for hydrogen peroxide. There existed a good linear relationship between the concentration of hydrogen peroxide and the oxidation peak current in the range of 1.00 × 10^-6 ~ 1.00 × 10^-3 mol·L^-1 (R = 0.9980) with the detection limit of 6.60 × 10-7 mol·L^-1. The sensor exhibited good anti-interference ability, high reproducibility and stability.

Lead Modified Nanoporous Platinum Electro-Catalysts For Formic Acid Oxidation, Yuan-Yuan Zhang, Qing-Feng Yi, Ge-Kun-Kun Zuo, Tao Zou, Xiao-Ping Liu, Xiu-Lin Zhou

Journal of Electrochemistry

Platinum (Pt) catalysts modified by other suitable metals significantly enhance their electrochemical activities for formic acid oxidation. In this work, a titanium-supported nanoporous network platinum (nanoPt/Ti) electrode was prepared using a hydrothermal method. The as-prepared nanoPt/Ti electrode was modified with a certain amount of lead by using cyclic voltammetry for different scan cycle numbers (n), namely, n = 10, 15, 20 and 30, to synthesize the novel lead-modified nanoporous Pt (nanoPb_(n)-Pt/Ti) electrodes. Electro-oxidation of formic acid on these electrodes was studied with cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry in sulfuric acid solution. CV curves showed that both nanoPt/Ti …

Chemical Stability Investigations Of Catalyst Layer In Pemfc, Yan-Yan Gao, Ming Hou, Yong-Yi Jiang, Dong Liang, Jun Ai, Li-Min Zheng

Journal of Electrochemistry

This work was intended to study the effect of free radicals on the chemical stability of catalyst layer via ex situ accelerated stress test (AST). Fenton reagent was used as the free radical provider in this research. Apart from the decomposition of Nafion in catalyst layer, the agglomerated Pt nanoparticles and the corroded carbon support were also observed after being treated in Fenton reagent for 100 h. Firstly, the existence of fluoride (F) ions evidenced the chemical decomposation of Nafion after being attacked by trace radical species, which was supported by the intensity decrease in the C-F stretching and vibration …

Increased Energy Yield Through Fast Pyrolysis: Empowering Malawian Villages, Diehl Mutamba

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Biomass contributes to several renewable energy technologies. This project will explore the use of fast pyrolysis to produce fuels by designing an apparatus for fast pyrolysis. Malawian people harvest firewood from the forests, which is a major contributor to deforestation. Furthermore, they convert some of it to charcoal with about 10-15% efficiency to sell to city dwellers. The project will enable herbaceous fuels to replace wood, increase charcoal yields and create new products. Firewood and charcoal produce smoke and carbon monoxide (CO) that compromises the villagers’ health.

This project will address deforestation problems, improve sustainability, decrease health hazards and improve …

Experimental Evaluation Of Lignocellulosic Biomass Pyrolysis By Dielectric Heating And Thermocatalytic Upgrading Of Pyrolysis Vapors Via Iron-Doped Montmorillonite Clay Catalyst, Candice Raffaela Ellison

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This work is an investigation of microwave-assisted biomass pyrolysis and thermocatalytic upgrading of pyrolysis vapors. In the first two chapters, the microwave susceptibility of mixtures of biomass with potential microwave absorbers are characterized by dielectric measurements at microwave frequencies. Dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor of biomass mixtures with char and biomass mixtures with bentonite are found to increase quadratically with increasing weight percent of char or bentonite.

Chapter 3 presents a finite element model, developed in COMSOL Multiphysics, comparing two waveguide applicator configurations for microwave processing using biomass as a model material. A standing wave configuration results in intense …

Method Of Increasing Mass Transfer Rate Of Acid Gas Scrubbing Solvents, Cameron Anthony Lippert, Kunlei Liu, Christine Marie Brandewie, Joseph Eugene Remias, Moushumi Sarma

Center for Applied Energy Research Faculty Patents

A method and catalysts for increasing the overall mass transfer rate of acid gas scrubbing solids is disclosed. Various catalyst compounds for that purpose are also disclosed.

Addition Of Exothermic Reaction Scale-Up Lab To Unit Operations Curriculum., Lisa A Anderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the Chemical Safety Board’s 2002 report entitled "Improving Reactive Hazard Management,” the CSB identified 167 serious accidents involving uncontrolled chemical reactions in the United States between 1980 and 2001 causing 108 deaths and hundreds of millions of dollars in property damage. Of the 167 accidents, 35% involved runaway reactions. One noteworthy incident from recent history is the fatal explosion that occurred at T2 Laboratories in Jacksonville, FL as a result of improper scale-up and an insufficient cooling design for the system.

One recommendation resulting from the CSB investigation of the incident was that the Accreditation Board for Engineering …

Surface Area And Electrocatalytic Properties Of Feni Nanoparticles For The Oxygen Evolution Reaction (Oer), James Burrow

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Iron-nickel bimetallic electrocatalysts have recently emerged as some of the best candidates for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in alkaline electrolyte. Understanding the effects of composition and morphology of iron-nickel nanoparticles is crucial for optimization and enhanced electrocatalyst performance. Both physical surface area and electrochemical surface area (ECSA) are functions of morphology. In this study, four different iron-nickel nanoparticle catalysts were synthesized. The catalysts were varied based on morphology (alloy versus core-shell) and composition (low, medium, and high stabilizer concentration). Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area analysis was conducted on three of the synthesized iron-nickel nanoparticles using a physisorption analyzer while electrochemical …

Degradation Of Orange G Through Persulfate Activated Nanoscale Zerovalent Iron Composites And Boron-Doped Diamond Electrodes, Suzana Ivandic

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Properly treated wastewater is necessary for water reuse and to avoid unnecessary impacts on the environment. The poultry industry utilizes large amounts of water for poultry processing. The need for innovative ways to treat organic contaminants in the poultry wastewater industry is especially necessary due to increased poultry consumption. The U.S. Department of Agriculture projected Americans would consume approximately 92 pounds of chicken per person in 2017.¹ Dissolved air flotation (DAF) is currently used in poultry wastewater treatment, but DAF does not remove organic contaminants efficiently per effluent standards. Implementation of processes that degrade contaminants directly would benefit the …

Removal Of Carbamazepine From Drinking Water, Paola Marrero-Rivera, Adam Johnson, Jordan Alex Gadberry, Juan Rodriguez, Thomas Krumpolc, Zach Wiese

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the increasing prevalence of prescription medication over the past few decades, pharmaceuticals have accumulated in various water sources. This has become a public health concern because many pharmaceuticals have limited research on the effects of chronic low-level exposure.One pharmaceutical of interest that has been detected in water sources is carbamazepine. Carbamazepine (CBZ) is a common pharmaceutical prescribed for the treatment of seizure disorders, neuropathic pain, and various psychological disorders. It’s mechanism of action is “sodium channel blocking,” which is the impairment of conduction of sodium ions in sodium channels. This, in effect, reduces nervous-system conductivity in key areas …

A Proposed Process And Economic Analysis For A Manufacturing Facility For Nylon 6,6, Perry Doles

Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The global nylon market is a multi-billion-dollar industry that has been thriving in recent years due to advances in the process technology and its flexibility as a material. Nylon 6,6 is a versatile material with uses in many industries because of its ability manipulated into many forms. It is commonly used in applications that require heat resistance, chemical resistance, and high mechanical strength. It is commonly used in luggage, car parts, carpets, and many other plastic products that require the properties that nylon 6,6 exhibits. The versatility and demand for nylon 6,6 make it an attractive process for many potential …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Properties Of Li3V2(Bo3)3/C Anode Materials For Lithium-Ion Batteries, You Wang, Yi-Wen Zeng, Xing Zhong, Xing Liu, Quan Tang

Journal of Electrochemistry

The Li₃V₂(BO₃)₃/C (LVB/C) composite materials were successfully synthesized in two steps:Firstly, a stoichiomertric mixture of Li₂C₂O₄, V₂O₅, H₃BO₃, H₂C₂O₄•H₂O and ethanol was thoroughly ball-milled to get the precursors. Secondly, the precursors were post-calcinated to get the ultimate products. The calcination temperatures of 750 ℃, 800 ℃ and 850 ℃ were selected based on TG-DTA analyses. The crystal structures, surface morphologies and carbon contents of the samples calcinated at five conditions, …

Preparation Of Co3O4/Ti Electrocatalytic Membrane Electrode For Catalytic Oxidation Of Benzyl Alcohol, Yu-Mei Zheng, Zhen Yin, Hong Wang, Jian-Xin Li

Journal of Electrochemistry

The cobalt oxide(Co₃O₄) nanoparticles were loaded on microporous Ti membrane to prepare Co₃O₄/Ti electrocatalytic membrane electrode by dip-coating method. The microstructures and electrochemical properties of Co₃O₄/Ti electrocatalytic membrane were investigated. The Co₃O₄/Ti electrocatalytic membrane reactor (ECMR) assembled by using the Co₃O₄/Ti electrocatalytic membrane as an anode was adopted for catalytic oxidation of benzyl alcohol to produce benzaldehyde and benzoic acid.The effects of different operation parameters on benzyl alcohol conversion, and selectivity to benzaldehyde and benzoic acid of ECMR were studied. …

Electrochemical Oxidation Of P-Chlorophenol On Porous Ti/Bdd Electrode Cooperated With Cathode Dechlorination, Rong-Ling Chen, Wei-Min Huang, Ya-Peng He, Jun Shi, Hai-Bo Lin

Journal of Electrochemistry

The electrochemical oxidation of p-chlorophenol on porous Ti/BDD electrode cooperated with synergistic effect of cathode dechlorination was studied. Electrochemical degradation tests of p-chlorophenol were conducted in single and double compartment electrolytic cells separately, and the results showed that the mineralization happened mainly in the anode region. The product of chloride ions produced from the cathodic reduction of 4-chlorophenol in the single cell migrated to the anode region and further generated active chlorine toward electro-catalytic oxidation. At the same time, the chloride ion produced from the cathode of the double cell was difficult to be migrated to the anode region, which …

Simulation Analysis In Dynamic Performance Of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Under Starting Condition, Yan Xiao, Ying-Jie Chang, Wei Zhang, Qiu-Hong Jia

Journal of Electrochemistry

Based on the equivalent circuit model, by considering both the dynamic gas pressure model and the dynamic heat transfer model, a lumped parameter model is developed. The start process of the fuel cell is simulated by using SIMULINK software. The undershoot of the voltage is observed from the simulation results, and the response time of the voltage is basically the same as that of the fuel cell temperature, which indicates that the temperature has great influence on the dynamic performance of the fuel cell. From the perspective of the temperature, the dynamic responses of the thermodynamic potential, the activation overvoltage, …

Interaction Between Energy And Electrocatalysis —— A Review On The 1st Young Scientist Forum On Energy Electrocatalysis, Hong Li, Wen-Bin Cai

Journal of Electrochemistry

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Rotating Magnetic Fields On Pem Fuel Cell Performance, Mao-Liang Wu, En-Ze Wang, Guang-De Pan, Zhong-Jun Liu, Fei Xie

Journal of Electrochemistry

Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell performance may be improved by application of additional magnetic fields. In this work, one square permanent magnet, made of either 16 combination cylinder magnets with homopolarity or 16 combination cylinder magnets with heteropolarity, was exerted on the fuel cell surface to produce additional magnetic field affecting PEM fuel cell performance. The influences of magnetic field status (rotating, static and none) on polarization and power density curves measured in a PEM fuel cell were investigated. The results verified the benefit of magnetic field, proving that the magnetic field distribution could improve the fuel cell output. …

Preparation And Properties Of Manganese Oxide And Polyaniline-Carbon Composite Electrode, Tian-Tian Zhou, Bing Wu, Chao Deng, Ying Gao

Journal of Electrochemistry

The polyaniline-carbon (PAnC) electrode was prepared by the polymerization of aniline monomer and activated carbon in ice water bath, and followed by chemical deposition of manganese dioxide MnO₂-PAnC composite material. The specific capacitance of MnO₂-PAnC reached 459 F•g^-1. The cyclic voltammetric results showed a small deformation in the voltammogram curve obtained with the MnO₂-PAnC electrode at high scan rate, indicating good reversibility and capacitive properties. The AC impedance results revealed that the MnO₂-PAnC electrode displayed the smallest charge transfer resistance and the fastest diffusion
rate of surface ions than other …

Preparation Of Ni(Dpim)2Cl2 Complex For The Electrocatalytic Reduction Of Co2, Li-Pu Zhang, Dong-Fang Niu, Xin-Sheng Zhang

Journal of Electrochemistry

A new Ni(dpim)₂Cl₂complex using 2-(diphenylphosphino)-1-methylimidazole (dpim) as ligand was prepared and served as a catalyst for the electrochemical reduction of CO₂. The electrochemical redox behavior of Ni(dpim)₂Cl₂ in CH₃CN/TPABF₄ solution under nitrogen atmosphere showed the two-electron irreversible reduction at -0.7 V and one-electron quasi-reversible reduction at -1.3 V. After bubbling CO₂ into the electrolyte, the reduction peak appeared at -1.3 V became irreversible and the peak current increased from 0.48 mA·cm^-2 to 0.55 mA·cm^-2. Moreover, the peak current at -1.3 V could further increase …

Spectro-Electrochemical Platforms For Dynamic Analyses Of Catalytic Cascade Systems, Nalin I. Andersen

Nanoscience and Microsystems ETDs

The development of spectro-electrochemical platforms that facilitate the dynamic analyses of complex catalytic cascade systems was explored in this research. These systems facilitated multiple modalities of catalysts and were used as platforms for monitoring catalytic transformations quasi-in situ. The analytical platforms allowed for the characterization of intermediates and products using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). The design and fabrication of these devices proved to be reproducible, made of materials that can be manipulated for multiple applications, and incorporate fluid mechanics, electrochemistry, and multimodal catalysis. Microfluidic technology offers capabilities for understanding catalytic cascade systems by providing precise dynamic control of …

Synthesis And Electrochemical Properties Of Nickel-Rich Cathode Material Lini0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 With High Initial Coulombic Efficiency, Xiao-Yun Guan, Chao-Yu Hong, Jian-Ping Zhu, Wei-Li Wang, Yi-Xiao Li, Yong Yang

Journal of Electrochemistry

Nickel-rich cathode materials LiNi_0.6Co_0.2Mn_0.2O₂(NCM622)were synthesized by a co-precipitation-solid state sintering method at different temperatures. The structure, morphology and electrochemical performance of the as-prepared materials were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) /Rietveld refinement, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and electrochemical experiments. It is found that NCM622 calcined at 800 ℃ showed the lowest degree of cation disorder (~1.97%) with a high initial Coulombic effiency of 92.2% and the capacity retention of 81.4% after 100 cycles.

Preparation And Electrocatalytic Activity Of Nitrogen-Doping Tungsten Carbide Catalyst, Pian-Pian Yang, Li-Zhen Huang, Ying-Ying Li, Mei-Qin Shi, Chun-An Ma

Journal of Electrochemistry

Tungsten carbide (WC) is a promising electrocatalyst, however, its electrocatalytic activity is far inferior to Pt and Pt-group metal. In this work, nitrogen-doping tungsten carbide (WN|WC) catalysts with a nanoplate morphology were prepared via the tungsten nitride (WN) as the precursor and sodium tungstate as the tungsten source. The SEM and TEM results indicated that carbon atoms entered into the WN lattice to form the hexagonal close packed WC phase. In this way, an atomic scale heterostructure involving the closely linked interfaces between WN and WC was created . The XRD data confirmed that the cubic crystal structure of WN …