Fall 2018 Seminar Series - 09/24/18 Bandosz

THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK 

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT

PRESENTS

Professor TERESA J.  BANDOSZ

City College of New York 

Monday, September 24, 2018

Seminar will be held in ST-160 (Lecture Hall) at 2:00 PM

Reception will be held in Steinman Hall, Exhibit Room from 3:15 – 4:00 PM

ADSORPTION FOR... BEYOND ADSORPTION: ROLE OF CARBON POROSITY IN ORR AND CO2RR 

Recently porous carbon has been used for various processes where its pores play a significant role but… a high amount adsorbed is not a final target.  This includes its application as an oxygen reduction or CO₂reduction electrocatalyst.  Our recent research focuses on application of nanoporous metal free carbons as catalysts for these processes. Although other heteroatom dopes nanoforms of carbons have be studied in these processes, we focus on the unique combined role of porosity and surface chemistry, which might enhance the reduction efficiency  via enhanced adsorption. Both processes take place in aqueous environment and under applied bias potential. The reduction processes take place on the catalytic sites related to the presence of heteroatoms on the carbon surface.

We hypothesize that the efficiencies of these catalytic process are affected by the strength of the target species adsorption in the pore system. That adsorption must happen apriori the reduction process. In both case gases (O₂or CO₂) are dissolved in the electrolyte and their reduction occurs on the carbons surface.  In the case of ORR   the role of porosity might be in strong withdrawal of oxygen from electrolyte to hydrophobic pores similar to their sizes where the electron transfer might take place. In the case of CO₂, on the other hand, via electron transfer the intermediate CO₂- is formed and then upon its adsorption and reduction- CO appears as the reduction products.  Then to form methane, C-O bond must split and protonation must take place. Therefore, it is plausible to assume that in small pores of carbons where CO and hydrogen (from water splitting) are strongly adsorbed methane can be formed as in Fisher –Tropsch process, owing to the specific conditions existing there (high pressure and strong adsorption). 

Dr. Bandosz has Ph.D. In Chemical Engineering  (Krakow Polytechnic) and D.Sci. in Physical Chemistry (Maria Curie-Sklodowska University). She is a full professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at the City College of New York. Dr. Bandosz has a broad experience in the field of materials preparation, and their applications to environmental problems related to development of adsorbents for gas separation. For three years she was associated with Dalian University of Technology in China as a sky scholar/ guest professor of Chemical Engineering. Dr. Bandosz is a Fulbright Senior Scholar (2016/2017). She edited the book “Activated carbon surface in environmental remediation,” published by Elsevier (2006). Her work during last 25 years has resulted in 6 US patents and over 400 publications in peer-reviewed journals (H index 48(excluding self citations)). Her recent research interests include synthesis of Graphene/ MOF, Graphene/hydroxide composites for separation and energy harvesting applications, visible light photoactivity of carbonaceous materials, energy storage, and CO₂sequestration and reduction. Since 2014 she is coeditor of Journal of Colloid and Interface Science.  She is also on the Advisory Board of American Carbon Society, on the Board of Directors of International Adsorption Society and on the Editorial Boards of Carbon, C, Adsorption Science and Technology and Applied Surface Science.