Homogeneous Catalysis in Supercritical Fluids
Research are towards replacement of toxic organic solvents that are used in chemical
synthesis by non-toxic SCFs. Some reactions which are under investigation
are industrially important polymerizations, hydrogenations and hydroformylations. The
research focuses on determination of the kinetics and mechanisms of reactions,
investigation of the effects of variation of solvent strength on conversions
and selectivities and reactor modeling. Of primary importance is the design and
synthesis of homogeneous catalysts specifically for this application.
Synthesis of Nanostructured Materials Using Supercritical Fluids
We are trying
to develop ecologically sound processes for the manufacture of high performance nanostructured materials (i.e., by definition, materials with
particle dimension or grain size less than 100 nanometers, where 1 nm = 10
angstroms). The process is based on synthesis of nanoscale materials in
reverse micelles in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2). In order to
achieve the stated objective, the research include thermodynamic studies
of the solubility of surfactants in scCO2 and the macroscopic phase
behavior of surfactant-water-scCO2 mixtures, as well as the
investigation of kinetics and thermodynamics of nanoparticle formation reactions
in reverse micelles in scCO2. Novel ionic and nonionic
surfactants are being designed and synthesized which can solubilize water in
micellar droplets in scCO2.
Fuel Cells and Sustainable Development
Our efforts are directed towards development and testing of carbon (carbon
black, carbon aerogel and carbon nanotube) based electrocatalysts for polymer
electrolyte membrane fuel cells, investigation of the relation between
electrocatalyst properties and fuel cell performance and catalyst development
and testing for reforming of petroleum derived fuels for hydrogen generation for
fuel cells.
Publications