In general, Lewis acid catalysts are metal-based compounds that owe their reactivity to a low-lying empty orbital. However, one potential Lewis acid that has received negligible attention as a catalyst is the carbocation. We have demonstrated the potential of the carbocation as a highly powerful Lewis acid catalyst for organic reactions. The stable and easily available triphenylmethyl (trityl) ...

Defining key parameters for a charge sustaining supervisory (torque split) control strategy as well as an engine and catalyst warm-up strategy for a Split Parallel Architecture Extended-Range Electric Vehicle (SPA E-REV) is accomplished through empirically and experimentally measuring vehicle tailpipe emissions and energy consumption for two distinct control strategies. The results of the exper...

The oligonucleotide [5'-32P]pdT8d(-)dT., containing an apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) site [d(-)], yields three radioactive products when incubated at alkaline pH: two of them, forming a doublet approximately at the level of pdT8dA when analysed by polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis, are the result of the f-elimination reaction, whereas the third is pdT8p resulting from ,8-elimination. The incubati...

A series of Pd-supported metal oxides (Al2O3, Fe2O3 and CeO2) have been prepared by a single step solution combustion synthesis (SCS). Their catalytic performance was evaluated for selective hydrogenation of cinnamaldehyde (CAL) to hydrocinnamaldehyde (HCAL) under atmospheric pressure of hydrogen at 100 °C. Among these materials, combustion synthesized Pd (2 at.%)/Al2O3 catalyst exhibits the hi...

N-methylol compounds, such as dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU), are the most commonly used durable press finishing agents for cotton fabrics by the industry. In this research, we have examined the effects of the catalyst systems used for DMDHEU on the mechanical strength of the crosslinked cotton fabric. The catalysts induce degradation of cellulose as indicated by the decrease in the t...

Natural gas may be used instead of hydrogen as fuel for the molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) by steam reforming the natural gas inside the MCFC, using a nickel catalyst (internal reforming). The severe conditions inside the MCFC, however, require that the catalyst has a very high stability. In order to find suitable types of nickel catalysts and to obtain more knowledge about the deactivation ...

The performance of a direct methanol alkaline anion-exchange membrane (Fumatech FAA3) fuel cell with Pt-free nitrogen-doped few-walled carbon nanotubes (N-FWCNT) as the cathode catalyst is compared with a commercial supported Pt catalyst. The ionomer content of the N-FWCNT cathode catalyst layer is therefore optimized and it is shown to be 40 wt% of FAA3. Scanning electron microscopy images of ...

Here we demonstrate an approach to enhance the growth of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) by including a catalyst reservoir underneath the thin-film alumina catalyst underlayer. This reservoir led to enhanced CNT growth due to the migration of catalytic material from below the underlayer up to the surface through alumina pinholes during processing. This led to the formation of large F...

ZSM-5-containing catalytic additives are widely used in oil refineries to boost light olefin production and improve gasoline octanes in the Fluid Catalytic Cracking (FCC) process. Under the hydrothermal conditions present in the FCC regenerator (typically >700 °C and >8% steam), FCC catalysts and additives are subject to deactivation. Zeolites (e.g., Rare Earth USY in the base catalyst and ZSM-...

Title of Dissertation: ALD-ENABLED CATHODE-CATALYST ARCHITECTURES FOR LI-O2 BATTERIES Marshall Adam Schroeder, Doctor of Philosophy, 2015 Directed By: Professor Gary W. Rubloff Minta Martin Professor of Engineering Department of Materials Science and Engineering Institute for Systems Research The Li-O2 electrochemical redox couple is one of the prime candidates for next generation energy storag...