Supported metal catalysts find many important uses in areas including chemical production, petroleum refining and emission control. The catalytic behavior of a supported metal catalyst is influenced by size and type of reaction sites on metal nanoparticles. For many structure insensitive reactions catalyzed by the supported metal catalysts, smaller metal...
Over the last 20 years a new field of amorphous transparent conducting oxides (a-TCOs) has developed. The amorphous nature of these films makes them well suited for large area applications. In addition, a-TCOs can be made at low temperatures and through solution processing methods. These assets provide promising opportunities to...
High performance structural materials are needed for Naval applications which require an excellent combination of yield strength, low-temperature impact toughness, ductility, ballistic-resistance, and weldability. This research investigates precipitation-strengthened HSLA-115 steels and ballistic-resistant 10 wt. % Ni steels, which have emerged as promising alternatives to the widely used HSLA-100 steels for...
Graphene offers promising opportunities for applications in printed and flexible electronic devices due to its high electrical and thermal conductivity, mechanical flexibility and strength, and chemical and environmental stability. However, scalable production and processing of graphene presents a critical technological challenge preventing the application of graphene for flexible electronic interconnects,...
In today's rapidly changing world, there is constant demand for the development of new, high performance materials. Fire resistant steels can provide greater safety in the event of a building fire, creep resistant stainless steels can allow for higher power plant efficiency, and cobalt based superalloys have potential for use...
Significant deviations in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of nanoconfined polymer films from the bulk have been studied for over twenty years with the focus on high molecular weight (MW), linear polymers. This thesis explores low MW polymers, which represent an important class of materials widely used as coatings, detergents,...
Metal and bimetallic nanoparticles are of interest and are widely used in various applications because of their unique optical, electronic, and catalytic properties, which differ from those of their bulk counterparts. Better understanding of the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of nanoparticles and their underlying growth mechanisms can serve as a...
Increasing energy demand due to rapid growth in population and industrialization along with environmental crisis has led to the search for cheap, environmentally friendly, and nontoxic methods for generation of energy. However, most alternative energy sources such as photovoltaic, biofuels, hydraulic power, wind power, and geothermal energy, are characterized by...
Nano-structured mixed ionic and electronic conducting (MIEC) materials have garnered intense interest in electrode development for solid oxide fuel cells due to their high surface areas which allow for effective catalytic activity and low polarization resistances. In particular, composite solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes consisting of ionic conducting scaffolds...
Growing energy and climate concerns in the United States and across the world demand improvements in energy efficiency, conservation, and renewability. Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) are highly efficient devices that electrochemically convert the chemical energy of a fuel to electricity. These devices can operate on natural gas as a...