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Full-Text Articles in Computational Chemistry

Assessing Interatomic Potentials For Molecular Dynamics Simulation Of Soybean Oil Pyrolysis, Tanner Garrett Rust Jan 2024

Assessing Interatomic Potentials For Molecular Dynamics Simulation Of Soybean Oil Pyrolysis, Tanner Garrett Rust

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The world today relies on hydrocarbon combustion for many reasons, including its high energy density that provides ease of transportation. However, hydrocarbons sourced from fossil fuels are not expected to last forever. Biodiesel, a renewable alternative, has many attractive benefits but comes with other downsides. Biodiesel can gel in cold environments and may leave residue in an engine. Pyrolysis of biodiesel has shown promise in addressing these common detriments. Inducing pyrolysis on biodiesel feedstock (commonly soybean oil in the USA) would be an attractive option presuming it continues to produce fossil fuel analogs similar to biodiesel pyrolysis. Herein, Langevin molecular …


Renewable Fuels: Molecular Dynamics Investigations Into Pyrolysis Of Methyl Linoleate, Elson Osakpolor Eguaosa Jan 2023

Renewable Fuels: Molecular Dynamics Investigations Into Pyrolysis Of Methyl Linoleate, Elson Osakpolor Eguaosa

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

With the rapid depletion of the world’s supply of fossil fuels, especially petroleum products, petroleum prices have risen by approximately 800% between the 1970s and now and are projected to continue rising. It is also expected that the world’s consumption of energy will increase commensurate with its growing population. Although biodiesel is a good renewable alternative, it has its limitations including high production costs and poor low-temperature performance. We seek to improve conventional biodiesel with pyrolysis to produce low molecular-weight compounds with high energy densities. Understanding the pyrolysis path on the atomic scale is key as it will allow us …


Exploration And Synthesis Of Half-Heusler And Disordered Ternary Intermetallic Single Crystals, Md Fahel Bin Noor Jan 2023

Exploration And Synthesis Of Half-Heusler And Disordered Ternary Intermetallic Single Crystals, Md Fahel Bin Noor

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Due to their distinct physical and chemical characteristics, half-Heusler compounds are intermetallic materials that have undergone substantial research. The general formula for these compounds is XYZ, where X and Y are transition metals and Z is a p-block element. Thermoelectricity is among the half-Heusler compounds' most exciting potential uses, but additional possible applications include spintronics, magnetic refrigeration, and superconductivity, among others. Recently, half-Heuslers (and Heuslers) have emerged as candidates for catalysts for hydrogenation. The CoNbSn half-Heusler compound, as well as another unique intermetallic ternary compound, the disordered Mn4-xCrxAl11, were successfully grown as single crystals …


Computational Comparison Of Platinum, Base Metals, And Binary Intermetallic Compounds’ Efficiency In Hydrogenation Catalysis, Lauren M. Sayler Jan 2023

Computational Comparison Of Platinum, Base Metals, And Binary Intermetallic Compounds’ Efficiency In Hydrogenation Catalysis, Lauren M. Sayler

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

In the petroleum industry, platinum is used as a catalyst in hydrogenation reactions during petroleum refining. Although platinum is extremely effective as a catalyst, it is expensive. This is an investigation into platinum and what characteristics make it so efficient, with the end goal of finding intermetallic compounds composed of base metals that are as effective in hydrogenation catalysis. The metals used in this investigation are Fe, Co, Ni, Mo, and W. The research performed here is computational and used to support and direct decisions made in the laboratory. The computation is first-principle, which is accomplished using Vienna Ab initio …


The Future Of Alternative Energy? Simulating Methyl Stearate Pyrolysis Via Molecular Dynamic Processes, Sarah J. Adeoye Jan 2023

The Future Of Alternative Energy? Simulating Methyl Stearate Pyrolysis Via Molecular Dynamic Processes, Sarah J. Adeoye

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The process of extracting and refining crude oil is both expensive and environmentally hazardous. The synthesis of biodiesel sourced from vegetable oils is a renewable process and less hazardous to the environment. Therefore, we seek to understand the pyrolysis procedure at an atomic level in hopes of optimizing future fuel viability. Herein, I analyze methyl stearate (a component of biodiesel) using an in-house database of ab initio trajectories, each simulating 1.0 ps (with 1.0 fs resolution). These jobs were observed for significant bond-breaking/forming events, the type of fragments produced, and the exact position and time for each event. Statistical analysis …