Chemistry Professor’s Research Highlighted in Nature Communications

November 2, 2015 by chemweb

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 29, 2015 – Catalysts that power chemical reactions to produce the nylon used in clothing, cookware, machinery and electronics could get a lift with a new formulation that saves time, energy and natural resources.

The catalyst developed by researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and highlighted in a paper published in Nature Communications features unprecedented selectivity and a conversion rate nearly twice that of conventional catalysts. Selectivity refers to the ability to target a specific chemical bond. It is also significant that the catalyst can break the carbon-hydrogen bonds in hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane, the precursor of nylon, without using noble metals. This has been considered a bottle-neck step in the production of nylon.

“The greater the selectivity, the more products that can be derived,” said ORNL chemist, Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and lead author Sheng Dai of the Chemical Sciences Division. “The catalyst is the main ingredient to speed up desired chemical reactions, and we have created one for synthesizing the nylon precursor that is especially effective at activating the carbon-hydrogen bonds.”

ORNL’s successful approach lies in the formation of an ultrahigh concentration of active sites – for breaking the carbon-hydrogen bonds — from a 50-50 atomistic mixture of manganese oxide and cerium oxide. This creates a catalyst that is extremely porous and features a high surface area, making it efficient at breaking these bonds. The high efficiency, or conversion rate, of the ORNL catalyst means more nylon can be produced from cyclohexane in less time.

Dai emphasized that this success was a team effort as he enlisted the help of ORNL postdoctoral research associate Pengfei Zhang, visiting scholar Hanfeng Lu of Zhejiang University and others to test his concept.

“Our catalyst has created a sustainable way to prepare complex mesoporous metal oxides and demonstrates outstanding performance in the selective oxidation of various hydrocarbons by oxidation,” Zhang said.

This research was funded by DOE’s Office of Science. A portion of the work was done at the Center for Nanophase Materials Science, a DOE User Facility at ORNL. The paper, titled “Mesoporous MnCeO_x solid solutions for low temperature and selective oxidation of hydrocarbons,” is available online.

Other authors were Li Zhang, Zilu Wu, Shize Yang and Hongliang Shi of ORNL, Ying Zhou, Quilian Zhu and Yinfei Chen of Zhejiang University and Shize Yang and Hongliang Shi of the University of Tennessee.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the DOE’s Office of Science. The Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States, and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.

MEDIA CONTACT: Ron Walli
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Communications
(865) 576-0226

Kovac Elected Senator of Phi Beta Kappa Society

October 27, 2015 by chemweb

Jeff Kovac, Professor of Chemistry, was elected one of the 13 senators of the Phi Beta Kappa Society on October 9th at the Society’s 44th Triennial Council in Denver, Colorado. The Society is the nation’s oldest academic honor society founded December 5, 1776.

Senators serve as directors who guide the Society on policy matters that are carried out by the national office of Phi Beta Kappa, and set the direction for the Society’s future.  The normal Senate term of office is six years.  Four people are returning to the Senate for a second term. Kovac is among the nine who are new to the Phi Beta Kappa Senate. “Being elected to the Phi Beta Kappa senate gives me an opportunity to have a larger impact nationally as an advocate for the liberal arts.” Kovac said.

“Phi Beta Kappa is very fortunate that these distinguished individuals are willing to volunteer their time to serve as Senators,” said John Churchill, Secretary of the Society. “Their skills and expertise will enhance those of our current Senators. They bring a variety of perspectives for assessing the best ways to advance the values of liberal arts and sciences education in America. I look forward to working with them.”

Kovac earned a Ph.D. in 1974 from Yale University. After completing two years as a postdoctoral research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 1976. During Kovac’s career here at the University of Tennessee, he has served as the director of General Chemistry from 1999 to 2011, the director of the Governor’s School for the Sciences and Engineering, and the director of the College Scholars program. Kovac also directed Tennessee Science Olympiad State Tournament for four years. His contributions were recognized both locally and nationally. Kovac was named AAAS Fellow in 2001.

The University of Tennessee’s Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, officially known as Epsilon of Tennessee, was formally installed in 1964 and has more than 120 members as of 2013. Kovac currently serves as the Chapter President and one of the five judges for the Society’s $10,000 National Book Awards in Science.

Hazari Magic Show Featured on Channel 8

October 25, 2015 by chemweb

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) — Dr. Al Hazari is a man who knows how to make an entrance.

The retired UT chemistry professor has spent the past 25 years putting on science shows for audiences all over East Tennessee.

Read the full article on local8now website

Chemistry Department Searching for Assistant Professor in Theoretical and Computational Chemistry

October 22, 2015 by chemweb

For search details and how to apply, please visit positions page.

Also open are positions of Lecturer and Advanced Laboratory Director and Technical Director. Find more on positions page.

Chemistry PEER Scholar Presented at NOBCChE

October 7, 2015 by chemweb

Leondra Lawson, a second year graduate student in the Dadmun’s Group, and a Scholar of Program for Excellence & Equity in Research, attended 2015 Conference of National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers held in Orlando Florida from Sept. 21 to 25.

Lawson gave an oral presentation on her recent research, titled “Enhancing the Cyanoacrylate Fuming Method for Optimal Retrieval of Latent Prints.” The project assesses the impact of temperature and humidity on the cyanoacrylate fuming method, a technique used by forensic scientists to visualize fingerprints. “The purpose of my research is to identify the mechanism of the chemical reactions that occur at a molecular level. This method is governed by the anionic polymerization of ethyl cyanoacrylate (ECA).” Lawson said, “We have begun the research to focus on the coupling effects of humidity and temperature, and subsequently, we will observe the effects of various surfaces on the polymerization of ethyl cyanoacrylate.”

Although only a second year Ph.D. student, Lawson is an experienced presenter and has presented at the Organization’s previous conference as well as the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students. Lawson also enjoyed the different sessions offered during this conference. “I had a great time at NOBCChE!” Lawson said, “One of the special sessions, ‘STEM’s Impact on 21st Century Forensic Science,’ was of particular interest to me because of my decade long desire to work in forensics.  The session presented a variety of careers that are available to chemists with a desire to work in the forensics field. ”

Also attended conference was Dr. Sekeenia Haynes, administrator for Program for Excellence & Equity in Research. Haynes was impressed with Lawson’s presentation. “She (Leondra) began speaking at a rapid pace but slowed down at a comfortable rate once prompt by someone in the audience. She then took a breath and with clarity presented a quality presentation. Leondra was professional, poised and addressed the questions from the audience with confidence.” Haynes commented.

Program for Excellence & Equity in Research housed in the Department of Biochemistry & Cellular & Molecular Biology is an initiative to increase the number of exceptional underrepresented students graduating with doctoral degrees in STEM disciplines at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. The Program seeks to advance a doctoral student’s competitiveness and interest in their chosen career field by offering professional development, ambitious research and dynamic mentoring opportunities.

The Program encourages its scholars to present at national conferences by providing funding support and preparation workshops. Multiple chemistry graduates student including Lawson and Tanei Ricks, both the Program scholars, have benefited from it. “Presenting at national conferences allows an opportunity for PEER scholars to present themselves and their research to the academic community.” Haynes said, “The feedback from Scientists with similar interests could prove to be most valuable… National conferences is also a great place for Scholars to meet new colleagues and expand their mentoring network.  Establishing and nurturing relationships with a diverse set of mentors can lead to opportunities (I.e., post-doctoral position) and resources that facilitate in advancing the Scholars career.”

With funding on the Dadmun Group’s latent prints project renewed, Lawson is expected to continue her work. Earlier this year, Lawson published her first-authored paper, titled “Binding, fractionation, and distribution of Cs, Co, and Sr in a US coastal soil under saturated and field capacity moisture regimes,” on Journal of Soils and Sediments.

Leondra Lawson Featured in Memphis Daily News

August 11, 2015 by chemweb

Leondra Lawson, second year Ph.D. student in the Dadmun’s group was featured in Memphis Daily News article titled “Convincing Girls, Women to Pursue Science and Math Careers.“

Long Group Research Featured by Science Alliance

July 23, 2015 by chemweb

Separating greenhouse gases such as CO2 from other non-harmful gases is one of the many projects the Long’s Group is trying to tackle. Learn more about this ongoing JDRD research featured on Science Alliance web site.

Professor Musfeldt Led Telluride Workshop

July 22, 2015 by chemweb

Dr. Janice Musfeldt, Professor of Chemistry, led Telluride workshop from June 14th to 18th in Telluride, Colorado.The workshop, titled “Enhanced Functionalities in 4 and 5d Containing Material from Large Spin-Orbit Coupling”, focused on understanding how spin-orbit coupling enhances functionality in compounds containing 5d ions.

A total of 30 scientists from all over the world attended the workshop. Musfeldt commented, “in addition to allowing our NSF-DMREF team to get together in beautiful Colorado, this series of workshops has really raised the level of interest in spin-orbit coupling and encouraged strategies to incorporate these interactions in the design of novel materials.”

Chemistry Graduate Students Attended Magnet Lab Summer School

June 18, 2015 by chemweb

Two chemistry graduate students in Professor Musfeldt’s Group, Laura Casto and Amanda Clune, attended National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) User Summer School in May. The weeklong summer school features tutorials on measurement techniques, practical exercises and plenary talks from experts in the field of condensed matter physics. This experience is designed to provide a “technique toolkit” to early career scientists.*

Musfeldt’s Group frequently obtains measurements at the NHMFL, so understanding the equipment they are working with is an important step in their research. “Through lectures and several lab practical exercises, we were able to gain knowledge from the experts and have a hands-on experience with many lab techniques that will be useful at both the NHMFL user facilities, as well as many other user facilities around the world.” Casto said, “These techniques included noise + noise suppression at the magnet lab, cryogenic measurements, lock-in techniques, finding and correcting ground loops, PPMS techniques, Sample preparation techniques (crystal growth, polishing, XRD measurements), optical spectroscopy techniques, and measurements using resistive magnets. We also learned about Electron Magnetic Resonance, Ion Cyclotron Resonance and Condensed Matter NMR.”

“Additionally, we were able to network and make various connections with people currently working at the Magnet Lab as well as students from all over the world,” Clune said. “Since we are users of the NHMFL, this summer school also helped me understand what other sciences are going on at the facility.”

Casto and Clune are both excited about the new opportunities these newly acquired techniques may bring them. “It was very useful in providing me with an understanding of the variety of science that is going on at the Magnet Lab.” Casto said, “It definitely will benefit my future research now that I have several techniques in mind, as well as a better understanding of the different kinds of physics and chemistry that can arise in a single crystal.” Clune added, “… this will allow me to have connects to people working within the same area as me to collaborate as well as to have a greater understanding of the User Facility when we are completing experiments in Tallahassee. ”

*Introduction from MagLab website.