Other Chemical Engineering Commons^™

Adsorption And Transport Of Colloids At Interface And In Bulk, Jingyun Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Colloids are suspensions of microscopic insoluble particles dispersed in a continuum phase such as liquid or gas. Colloids are found in our everyday life from food and cosmetic industries to pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. Depending on a global minimum of the free-energy landscape, colloidal suspensions can be classified as two major classes: equilibrium or active colloidal system. This Ph.D dissertation presents strategies to engineer equilibrium self-assembled structures and out-of-equilibrium active matter using various interparticle forces.

First, we introduce the means to promote the equilibrium self-assembled structures driven by adsorption of colloids at interface. Typically, adsorption of colloids at interface is …

Gold-Semiconductor Photocatalysts For Water Treatment Under Visible And Ultraviolet Light, Daniel Willis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Water scarcity threatens the lives of millions of people worldwide. It is imperative to improve the energy efficiency and affordability of water treatment methods to avoid a looming water-energy crisis. To meet this challenge, I have pursued research on the use of sunlight—our most reliable and abundant source of energy—to drive water treatment through photocatalysis. I explored the literature and found gold-semiconductor materials to hold promise for harvesting sunlight and catalyzing the breakdown of waterborne contaminants. Initially, I designed a novel optical cavity with gold (Au) nanoparticles on a zinc oxide / titania (TiO₂) / aluminum film stack …

Emulsion Templating Application For Synthesis Of A Porous Zein Biocompatible Oil Adsorbent, Nathan Holley

LSU Master's Theses

The recovery of spilled oil from water sources using hydrophobic porous absorbent has gained significant interest due to the ease of implementation, large-scale adaptability, and robust nature of the technique. However, the lack of biodegradability of these synthetic adsorbents has caused concern of further contaminating the environment from the generation of microplastic waste that is known to persist and accumulate in the marine food chain and other ecosystems. To mitigate this potential hazard, a new biocompatible alternative is needed to replace the non-degradable synthetic materials currently used. This thesis presents ZEin-based Low Density porous Absorbent (ZELDA), synthesized using a particle …