IRG 1: Catalysis and Reaction Processes

This group focuses on steady state and dynamic aspects of adsorption and reaction processes, occurring primarily on heterogeneous catalytic surfaces. This includes synthesis and characterization of new materials with potential for applications in heterogeneous catalysis, including covalently bound cluster arrays, microporous transition-metal phosphates, and porous amorphous materials. Applications include catalyst design for reactivity and selectivity; design and operation of single and multiphase reactors; photochemical reactions carried out by fast pulsed lasers; and strategies for reaction mixture, catalyst and reactor design for environmental applications. The customer base includes chemical, petroleum, utility and manufacturing industries which require chemical transformations for either production or environmental protection reasons.

Brennecke, Chang, Fehlner, Leighton, McCready, McGinn, Sevov, Strieder, Thomas,

Varma, Wolf (IRG Leader)

IRG 2: Electrochemical Interfaces and Processes

The focus of this effort is the experimental study and mathematical modeling of chemical reactions and their physical patterns that occur at interfaces when placed in electrolytes with or without electric fields. Applications include the design of passive layers that resist corrosion by pitting; environmentally benign general corrosion inhibitor design; electrolyte and electrode design for the production of nanoscale patterning for electronic, magnetic, optical and membrane use; semiconductor interfaces for solar energy conversion; spatial manipulation of objects on the nanometer scale; surface patterning via microcontact printing; and scanning probe lithography. The user base is extensive, and includes all metal producers and users, as well as chemical, petroleum and electronics industries.

Chang, Kamat, Lieberman, Meisel, Miller (IRG Leader), Strieder

IRG 3: Nanostructured Materials

The focus of this area is on developing novel materials having characteristic features in the nanometer range that uniquely define their properties. The nanostructured materials that are synthesized and studied include self-assembled layers, main-group clusters, metal and semiconductor nanoparticles, functionalized mesoporous silicas and nanostructured membranes. Areas of application include adsorption, separations, fuel cells, encapsulation, biocatalytic membranes, non-linear optics, sensing technology, self-assembled films, nanomagnetics, and environmental remediation. These technologies are critical in the chemical processing, pharmaceutical, automotive, energy storage/conversion and petroleum industries.

Kamat, Lieberman, Maginn (IRG Leader), Meisel, Miller, Ostafin, Sevov, Thomas, Varma, Wolf

This group is concerned with various advanced processing techniques for materials, including combustion synthesis, ceramics processing, crystal growth, powder metallurgy, tribology, microfluidics and polymer rheology. Special attention is paid to establishing the relationship between processing, microstructure and properties of materials. Manufacturing issues related to shaping and forming, and solidification-casting are also addressed.

Bunker, Chang, Hill, Leighton, Maginn, McGinn (IRG Leader), Miller, Paolucci, Sevov, Varma