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September 2016

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Graduate Seminar - Dr. Thomas M. Truskett - September 6, 2016
by Hendryx, Sandra K 02 Sep '16

02 Sep '16

[cid:image001.png@01D1FC8F.4DBED550]<https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE> GRADUATE SEMINAR SERIES Dr. Thomas M. Truskett, Chair McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering University of Texas at Austin "Inverse Design of Interactions for Assembly" Tuesday, September 6, 2016 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 2:30 p.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract: Nanometer-scale, colloidally-stable particles suspended in a fluid can be driven to assemble into a wide variety of different structures depending on the control parameters of the system and the nature of the effective interparticle interactions. In many cases, the relevant interactions are tunable via external fields, physical or chemical modification of the particle surfaces, or changes in the composition of the suspending solvent. In this talk, we explore simple models for the 'inverse' design of such interactions for cluster or superlattice forming systems. We also touch upon practical aspects associated with realizing and characterizing the designed structures. Bio: Tom Truskett is the Les and Sherri Stuewer Endowed Professor and Department Chair in Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned Bachelor of Science and Doctoral degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and Princeton University, respectively, and was a postdoctoral fellow in biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco. In 2002, he joined the faculty of Chemical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. His group studies how interfaces and confinement impact the behavior of soft matter including molecular fluids, colloidal suspensions, protein solutions, and glasses. Tom is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineers. He is also recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship, a David and Lucile Packard Foundation Fellowship, a National Science Foundation's CAREER Award, TAMEST's O'Donnell Award for Engineering, and AIChE's Allan P. Colburn Award. Sandra Hendryx, Secretary School of Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Office Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering, Room G041 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907 Phone: 765-494-5650 Fax: 765-494-0805 [P bling]

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Graduate Seminar Series-Sept. 13
by Vigar, Jill K 02 Sep '16

02 Sep '16

[cid:image002.png@01D204FD.2C501B10]<https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE> GRADUATE SEMINAR SERIES Dr. Raul F. Lobo Center for Catalytic Science and Technology Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Delaware “Valorization of Natural Gas and Biomass-Derived Compounds via Zeolite Catalysis” Tuesday, September 13, 2016 3:00 - 4:15 p.m. FRNY G140 Reception at 2:30 p.m. in Henson Atrium Abstract: My research group is interested in developing and understanding catalysis systems to enable the transformation abundant, inexpensive and—when possible—renewable carbon sources into feedstocks for the chemical industry. We combine expertise in materials synthesis, catalysis and kinetics, and reaction engineering to develop novel catalysts and catalytic processes that produce valuable products. In the first part of the talk I will discuss a number of alternative pathways to transform furans (typically produced from glucose or xylose by dehydration) into valuable commodity chemicals. To this end we have developed and optimized zeolite catalyst compositions to form aromatic species out of the furans via Diels-Alder chemistry. We will describe efforts to producing benzoic acid and -methylstyrene from furans in high selectivity and high yield, along with the elucidation of the reaction mechanisms of these reactions. In the second part I will discuss on-going research directed towards the development of catalysts for the selective oxidation of methane into methanol. We will show that zeolites can serve as hosts of transition metals oxide clusters (copper or iron) that are analogous to metal oxide clusters observed in a number of important enzymes such as particulate methane monooxygenase (pMMO). These clusters are capable of oxidizing methane to methanol, carbon monoxide and CO2. By selectively choosing materials that compartmentalize Cu-O clusters, we have identified zeolite structures that are able to selectively oxidize methane to methanol with very high selectivity in a three-step cyclic process. We will describe the potential and the drawbacks of transforming such cyclic process into a catalytic process for methanol production. Despite the maturity of the field of catalysis this talk will show that tantalizing new opportunities emerge from the discovery of new catalyst structures and compositions, and from improvements in our control of the composition of metal clusters in nanoscopic environments. Biography: Raul F. Lobo is the Claire D. LeClaire professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Delaware and Director of the Center for Catalytic Science and Technology. His research interests span the development of novel porous materials for catalysis and separations, the chemistry of zeolites, catalysis for energy and the environment, and the scientific aspects of catalyst synthesis. He has published over one hundred forty refereed reports and he is co-inventor in three US patents. He obtained his undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Costa Rica in 1989 and later moved to California to pursue graduate studies in Chemical Engineering at Caltech. He worked for one year at Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico as a postdoctoral fellow and he started his academic career at the University of Delaware in 1995. Jill K. Vigar Secretary Forney Hall of Chemical Engineering, Rm 2144 480 Stadium Mall Drive West Lafayette, IN 47907 P. 765-494-7134 E. jvigar(a)purdue.edu<mailto:jvigar@purdue.edu> [ENG_Chem]

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