Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Development And Thermodynamic Analysis Of An Integrated Mild/Partial Gasification Combined Cycle (Impgc) Under Green And Brown Field Conditions With And Without Carbon Capture, Henry A. Long Iii

University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

Coal is a very prominent energy source in the world, but it is environmentally unattractive due to its high sulfur and ash content as well as its alleged contribution towards climate change, but it is affordable, abundant, and has high energy content. Thus, utilizing coal in a cleaner and more efficient way has become necessary. One promising clean coal technology involves fully gasifying coal into synthesis gas, cleaning it, and feeding it into a high-efficiency combined cycle, such as an Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC). Inspired by the recent success of warn gas cleanup (WGCU), mild and partial gasification are …

Optimization Of Useful Hard X-Ray Photochemistry, David Lewis Goldberger

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

X-ray induced damage is generally considered a nuisance, but in the field of Useful Hard X-ray Photochemistry we harness the highly ionizing and penetrating properties of hard X-rays (> 7 keV) to initiate novel photochemical decomposition and synthesis at ambient and extreme conditions. Preliminary experiments suggest that the energy of irradiating photons and the sample pressure play roles in determining the nature of X-ray induced damage. Here, we present the X-ray energy dependence of damage induced in strontium oxalate, strontium nitrate, and barium nitrate, as well as the pressure dependence of X-ray induced damage of strontium oxalate. Our results indicate …

Photophysical Characterization And Wavelength Tuning Of Natural And Synthetic Oxobacteriochlorins And Biohybrids, Don Hood

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION

Photophysical Characterization and Wavelength Tuning of Natural and Synthetic Oxobacteriochlorins and Biohybrids

By

Donald L. Hood

Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry

Washington University in St. Louis, 2018

Dr. Dewey Holten, Chairperson

Herein is discussed the theoretical and practical unpinnings of photophysical behaviors and kinetic constants for tetrapyrrole macrocycles, to wit, porphyrins, chlorins, and bacteriochlorins. Understanding the characteristic photophysical response of tetrapyrroles to changes in environment or substituents is important to designing synthetic chromophores with tunable absorption wavelengths and for preparing useful biohybrids of natural photosynthetic light antennas combined with unnatural chromophores attached to the light antenna …

Photo-Isomerizable Complementary Hydrogen Bond Arrays, Jeffrey S. Pleizier

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The use of light as an external stimulus provides a non-invasive technique to induce large changes in physical and chemical properties of a substrate. The incorporation of a photochromic subunit into supramolecular polymeric systems therefore adds a potential "smart" quality for polymer manipulation. The azo moiety (-N=N-) is one of the most popular photochromic units as the trans to cis isomerization results in a large degree of spatial rearrangement. This present thesis exploits the azo group by its incorporation into complementary hydrogen bonded complexes. Hydrogen bonding acceptor groups attached to the periphery of the central azo photoswitch provided strong complexation …

The Investigation Of The Chlorine Initiated Oxidation Of 2-Phenylethanol And Stability Of Superalkali Lithium Substituted Silyls., Adam Otten

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the combustion potential of 2-phenylethanol and the superalkali properties of small lithium substituted silicon compounds. All combustion experiments were performed at the Advanced Light Source of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory at the Chemical Dynamics Beamline 9.0.2. The chlorine initiated oxidation of 2PE was investigated at 298 and 550 K using a multiplex photoionization mass spectrometer, coupled with the tunable vacuum ultraviolet radiation. Reaction products were identified using kinetic time traces and photoionization spectra.

Additionally, the stability of small superalkali silicon-lithium compounds has also been investigated. All structures and energetics were calculated using the CBS-QB3 composite method.

The …

Corrosion Dynamics Of Carbon Steel In Used Fuel Container Environments, Dan Guo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The current Canadian used nuclear fuel container (UFC) design uses a pressure‑grade carbon steel (CS) vessel with its outer surface coated with a thin layer of copper. One concern regarding the structural integrity of the UFC design is the potential internal corrosion of the CS vessel. Moisture trapped inside a UFC could condense within the gap between the hemispherical head and the cylindrical body of the vessel. The internal UFC environment will be exposed to a continuous flux of ionizing radiation arising from the decay of radionuclides trapped in the used UO₂ fuel matrix.

This thesis research project investigates …

Computational Quantum Chemistry Studies Of The Interactions Of Amino Acids Side Chains With The Guanine Radical Cation., Edward Acheampong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Guanine is generally accepted as the most easily oxidized DNA base when cells are subjected to ionizing radiation, photoionization or photosensitization. At pH 7, the midpoint reduction potential is on the order of 0.2 – 0.3 V higher than those of the radicals of e.g. tyrosine, tryptophan cysteine and histidine, so that the radical “repair” (or at least, a thermodynamically favorable reaction) involving these amino acids is feasible. Computational quantum studies have been done on tyrosine, tryptophan, cysteine and histidine side chains as they appear in histones. Density functional theory was employed using B3LYP/6-31G+ (d, p) basis set to study …

Molecular Dynamics Investigation Of The Thermodynamics Of Nanoscale Droplets And Kinetics Of Weakly Correlated Systems, Kai Yang Leong

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The surface tension of nanoscale droplets of water was studied with molecular dynamics simulations using the BLYPSP-4F water potential. The internal pressure of the droplet was measured using a correlation between the pressure and density, established through a series of bulk simulations performed at pressures from 1 to 1000 bar. Such a procedure allows for reliable determination of internal pressure without the need to calculate the local Virial. The surface tension, estimated with the Young-Laplace relation, shows a good agreement with the Tolman equation with a Tolman length of -0.48 Å. The interface of a liquid water droplet is shown …

Effect Of Network Structure On Free Volume And Gas Transport Properties Of Thiol-Ene And Epoxy-Amine Networks, Ramesh Krishnan Ramakrishnan

Dissertations

Network parameters such as cross-link density or intermolecular interactions were used as effective parameters to control polymer chain packing or free volume and thereby control the mass transport properties of networks.

A series of polyethylene glycol (PEG) based thiol-ene elastomeric networks having a broad range of molecular weight between cross-links, M_c, (inverse of cross-link density) was prepared. The specific volume of the networks was studied as a function of temperature and pressure using high pressure dilatometry, and the obtained PVT data was fit using Simha-Somcynsky equation of state (S-S eos) analysis. Fractional free volume, quantified through S-S eos …

Development Of Functional Chemical Probes For The Study Of Viscosity, Fe(Ii), And Ferroptosis And Photo-Triggered Drug Delivery, Yongyi Wei

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Small molecule probes are useful tools for the study of biology. In particular, the dye derived fluorescence probes enable to spatiotemporally monitor the events of analytes of interest. The noninvasive feature is particularly attractive for the biological studies in live cells. The challenge is to develop chemical probes capable of detection of the analyte of interest with high specificity.

Toward this end, my Ph. D. study centers on the development of novel chemical probes for the study and understanding of the alternation of important cellar contents and substances and their functions and relationship between normal and disease states. In the …

Impact Of Chemical Doping On The Thermoelectric Charge Transport Of Organic Semiconductors, Connor J. Boyle

Doctoral Dissertations

The thermoelectric properties of organic semiconductors allow them to directly convert heat into electricity without the use of moving parts and to directly convert electricity into heat without the use of working fluids. These properties offer opportunities for the generation of electricity from non-conventional or renewable sources of heat and for refrigeration without the risk of leaking harmful working fluids at any length scale down to the nanoscale. Since organic materials are lightweight, flexible, and made from abundant resources, these opportunities could one day become affordable for widespread use and could be expanded to include specialized and otherwise difficult to …

The Electrochemical Study Of Simulated Spent Nuclear Fuel (Simfuel) Corrosion Under Permanent Disposal Conditions, Ziyan Zhu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The safety assessment of spent nuclear fuel under permanent disposal conditions requires examination of the corrosion of the spent fuel waste form (UO₂) inside a failed waste container. The objective of this research project was to develop a detailed mechanism of the UO₂ corrosion process when exposed to groundwater. The redox conditions within a failed container in a deep geologic repository will be complex. The oxidant, H₂O₂, produced by the α-radiolysis of groundwater, will be the main driving force for fuel corrosion. However, the efficiency of fuel dissolution will be determined by the …

Synthesis, Characterization And Application Of Structurally Diverse Poly(Chalcogenylene Vinylene)S, Zhen Zhang

Chemistry and Chemical Biology ETDs

Conjugated polymers have found widespread applications in flexible and printable electronic devices, among which poly(thienylene vinylene) (PTV) displays outstanding optoelectronic properties and promising applications. However, further studies of its structure-property-function relationship have been greatly impeded mainly due to the synthetic difficulty of generating new structures beyond its rudimentary form.

To further investigate this class of material, I have developed a facile methodology for the preparation of structurally diverse poly(chalcogenylene vinylene)s (PCVs) through a combination of acyclic diene metathesis (ADMET) polymerization and post-polymerization modification techniques. Specifically, a series of halogenated and cross-conjugated PCVs have been designed and synthesized, followed by complete …

Voltage-Driven Polyelectrolyte Complexation Inside A Nanopore, Prabhat Tripathi

Doctoral Dissertations

This thesis investigates how a pair of oppositely charged macromolecules can be driven by an electric field to form a polyelectrolyte complex inside a nanopore. To observe and isolate an individual complex pair, a model protein nanopore, embedded in artificial phospholipid membrane, allowing compartmentalization (cis/trans) is employed. A polyanion in the cis and a polycation in the trans compartments are subjected to electrophoretic capture by the pore. We find that the measured ionic current across the pore has a distinguishable signature of complex formation, which is different from the signature of the passage of individual molecules …

The Balance Between Dipole-Dipole Interactions And Steric Exclusion On Ordering In Cationic Polymers, Chinomso Nwosu

Doctoral Dissertations

Structure-property correlations in charged polymers is an interesting facet of polymer science. Understanding the effects of intermolecular forces on the morphologies of polymers can lead to the design of membranes with desired structures to improve properties, for example ion conductivity. In random, comb-shaped polycations, competing intermolecular forces result in two different short-range orderings. Side-chain steric repulsion results in backbone-backbone morphology characterized by periodic spacing between polymer backbones. However, dipole - dipole attraction in these polycations can facilitate the formation of ionomer cluster morphology characterized by a spacing between clustered dipoles. Although both of these short-range orderings have disparate origins, their …

The Dissociative Chemisorption Of Methane And Its Isotopologues On Metal Surfaces, Han Guo

Doctoral Dissertations

The dissociative chemisorption of small molecules on metal surfaces is an important step in many heterogeneous catalytic processes, and has received considerable scientific attention. In this thesis, a quantum approach based on the reaction path Hamiltonian is used to explore the dissociative chemisorption of methane and its deuterated isotopologues on several metal surfaces. The theoretical approach is described in Chapter 2. This approach treats all 15 degrees of freedom of the methane molecule, and includes the effects of lattice motion, allowing us to examine the translational and vibrational enhancements, mode- and bond-selectivity and the surface temperature dependence observed in experiments. …

Calculation Guided Rational Design And Synthesis Of Novel Cationic Fluorescent Meso–Pyridinium Bodipys For Bio-Imaging, Daniel J. Lamaster

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Chapter 1 contains a brief overview of the history, synthesis, and properties of BODIPY dyes as well as that of the biomedical applications of bio-imaging and photodynamic therapy. Additionally, an overview of the theoretical framework of density functional theory and its time-dependent variant are provided. In Chapter 2, the effects of structural modification on the electronic structure and electron dynamics of cationic meso-(4-pyridyl)-BODIPYs were investigated. A library of 2,6-difunctionalized meso-(4-pyridyl)-BODIPYs bearing various electron-withdrawing substituents was designed and DFT calculations were used to model the redox properties, while TDDFT was used to determine the effects of functionalization on the excited …

Computational Studies On Nucleic Acid-Ion Interactions In Droplets And Bulk Solution, Mahmoud Sharawy

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Interactions of macromolecules with ions in solution have a long history of study because of their ubiquitous nature. These interactions are essential for the stability and function of macromolecules such as nucleic acids. Nucleic acids are involved in many natural biochemical processes. For example, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) provides more than storage of genetic information. The guanine-rich structures, at the ends of the DNA, participate in regulating the gene expression in the living cell by forming guanine quadruplex (G-quadruplex) structures. These structures provide a possible drug target for the treatment of cancer. Nucleic acids are polyions under physiological pH of 7.4. …

Layer-By-Layer Construction Strategies Towards Efficient Czts Solar Cells, Matthew J. Turnbull

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Solar energy has very high potential for ensuring the world’s energy requirements for the long-term future. Earth-abundant materials like Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) are especially desirable, with a non-toxic, low-cost nature, though the quaternary nature allows for a lot of crystal structure variability, and thus underwhelming performance. This Ph.D. thesis is devoted to deepening the understanding of the CZTS material formation, and the processes that can be used to control it, to construct a low-cost, high efficiency CZTS-based solar cell. The layer-by-layer approach presented within this thesis shows great potential for rectifying the problem. CZTS nanocrystal (NC) stoichiometric control …

Coupling Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy And 3d Modelling To Probe Membrane Permeability Of Human Bladder Cancer (T24) Cells, Fraser Filice

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) scans a biased ultramicroelectrode (≤ 25 µm) probe over a sample to characterize topography, physical properties and chemical reactivity. In this dissertation, SECM was used to investigate the metal-induced changes in membrane response of single live human bladder cancer cells (T24). SECM imaging was coupled to 3D finite element method (FEM) simulations which were the first of their kind, providing advanced quantification of sample traits under conditions not previously usable.

The effects of Cd²⁺ on T24 cell membrane permeability were examined. Experimental depth-scan imaging was coupled with full 3D FEM simulations, eliminating many limitations of …

Hydrogen-Deuterium Exchange Mass Spectrometry And Molecular Dynamics Simulations For Studying Protein Structure And Dynamics, Yiming Xiao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Deciphering properties of proteins are essential for human health and aiding in the development of new pharmaceuticals. This dissertation uses hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) mass spectrometry (MS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study protein dynamics, for improving the understanding of protein folding/unfolding mechanisms, and ligand binding and allosteric regulation.

Chapter 2 uses HDX-MS for probing the conformational dynamics of myoglobin in the presence of N₂ bubbles. We propose a dynamic model that reproduces the observed data: “semi-unfolded” “native” “globally unfolded” -> “aggregated”. Chapter 3 focuses on osteoprotegerin (OPG), which hinders bone resorption by inhibiting RANK/RANKL interactions. The dimerization of …

Mechanism Of Protein Charging And Supercharging In Electrospray Ionization: Molecular Dynamics Simulations And Experimental Investigations, Haidy S. Metwally

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) is a powerful technique for investigating protein structures, conformations, and interactions. Despite its widespread use, many fundamental aspects of ESI remain poorly understood. In this thesis, we use a combination of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and experiments to gain insights into the hidden complexities of ESI-MS.

Chapter 2 discusses the topic of salt-induced protein signal degradation. Salts such as NaCl, CsCl, and tetrabutyl ammonium chloride (NBu₄Cl) interfere with MS data acquisition, leading to adduct formation and signal suppression. MD simulations provide an explanation for these salt interferences. Signal suppression can be broken down …

Probing Trapped Extracellular Vesicles By Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy, Lauren Kaufman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are released by nearly all cell types within the human body and have been found to play important biological roles including cell-to-cell communication, apoptosis and tissue repair. Lacking cellular machinery, these nano-sized vesicles carry functional proteins and nucleic acids from their parent cells, providing insight into biomarkers present in healthy, cancerous and diseased cells. EVs may be isolated from biofluids such as from blood or urine. Their detection and characterization holds extreme potential in developing less invasive disease detection and treatment methods.

In this work, we propose use of lithographic techniques to fabricate platforms to allow for …

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies Of Imidazolium-Based Ionic Liquids And Garnet-Type Li7la3zr2o12, Shen Lai

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Advancements in electrochemical energy storage materials are critical in the development and utilization of renewable energy technologies. These advancements involve obtaining a better understanding of electrochemical mechanisms and properties through scientific research towards an improved energy storage technology. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), is a sensitive and selective method to probe particle dynamics (magnetic relaxation, diffusometry, etc.) and material structures (spectroscopy) down to the atomic level. In this work, several NMR techniques are employed to study imidazolium-based ionic liquids and garnet-type inorganic materials. These are being studied due to their potential use as safer alternatives to organic solvent-based electrolytes in lithium-ion …

Building On Nature: Spectroscopic Studies Of Photosynthesis-Inspired Pigments, Fused Light Harvesting Proteins, And Bacterial Reaction Center Mutants, Kaitlyn Faries

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Photosynthesis is the dominant form of solar energy conversion on the planet, making it critical to understand the fundamentals of the process in order to effectively mimic and improve upon it for human energy needs. The initial stages of photosynthesis include light harvesting and chemical conversion of that harvested energy via electron transport, with both of these stages relying on pigments (or chromophores) such as chlorophyll and specific protein architectures for the processes. In this work, the fundamental underpinnings of photosynthetic light harvesting and electron transport are explored via spectroscopy of various photosynthetic systems with altered natural pigments and proteins. …

Instrumentation For Cryogenic Dynamic Nuclear Polarization And Electron Decoupling In Rotating Solids, Faith Joellen Scott

Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) increases the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) using the higher polarization of electron radical spins compared to nuclear spins. The addition of electron radicals for DNP to the sample can cause hyperfine broadening, which decreases the resolution of the NMR resonances due to hyperfine interactions between electron and nuclear spins. Electron decoupling has been shown to attenuate the effects of hyperfine coupling in rotating solids. Magic angle spinning (MAS) DNP with electron decoupling requires a high electron Rabi frequency provided by a high-power microwave source such as a frequency-agile gyrotron. This dissertation describes the development …

Structure And Thermodynamics Of Polyglutamine Peptides And Amyloid Fibrils Via Metadynamics And Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Riley Workman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Aggregation of polyglutamine (polyQ)-rich polypeptides in neurons is a marker for nine neurodegenerative diseases. The molecular process responsible for the formation of polyQ fibrils is not well understood and represents a growing area of study. To enable development of treatments that could interfere with aggregation of polyQ peptides, it is crucial to understand the molecular mechanisms by which polyQ peptides aggregate into fibrils. Many experimental techniques have been employed to probe polyQ aggregation, however, observations from these studies have not lead to a unified understanding of the properties of these systems, instead yielding competing, fragmented theories of polyQ aggregation. This …

Mechanistic Studies Of Reducible Metal Oxides As Hydrodeoxygenation Catalysts, Akbar Mahdavi Shakib

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hydrodeoxygenation of phenol to benzene using ruthenium supported titania catalysts strongly varies depending on the support crystal structure and preparation conditions. Here, we performed spectroscopic characterization of titania supports to identify the surface impurities common to commercial and synthesized titania samples using a variety of spectroscopic methods. Sulfate impurities were detected for the commercial anatase samples and a procedure for their elimination was proposed so that inactive catalysts gained reactivity. Surface hydroxyls of different TiO2 samples (anatase, rutile, and pyrogenic) were identified using diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) experiments performed on vigorously cleaned surfaces and a facet-specific assignment …

Modern Electronic Structure Theory: The Search For Chemical Accuracy, Jonathan Prince

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Electronic structure theory has progressed significantly within the last few decades, venturing far from the early days of the Hartree-Fock self-consistent field method. Modern electronic structure theory focuses on compound methods, which operate under the idea that we can take a lower level of theory computation (typically, a result from Hartree-Fock, Configuration Interaction, Coupled Cluster or Moller-Plesset perturbation theory) and add in higher level of the theory corrections such as extrapolations to the infinite basis set limit, as well as, relativistic effects.

Using the Gaussian-n, Complete Basis Set and Weizmann compound methods, we were able to provide theoretical evidence to …

Novel Relative Spontaneous Ignition Temperature Determination Using Carbon Dioxide Onset With Sta/Ir, Antonio David Trevino

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Simultaneous thermal analysis, coupled with infrared spectroscopy (STA/IR), was utilized to monitor the evolution of gaseous products during the thermal degradation of samples from Triadica sebifera (Chinese tallow), Ligustrum sinense (Chinese privet), and Ilex vomitoria (yaupon) plants. Identification of carbon dioxide was successful with a spectral match of 90.2 percent and further used in the determination of relative spontaneous ignition temperature, or RSIT. The RSIT value during the growing season for Chinese tallow, Chinese tallow stem, Chinese privet, and Yaupon were 208.4°C, 250.3°C, 210.1°C, and 232.3°C respectively. During the dormant seasons, the values for Chinese tallow stem, Chinese privet, and …