Category: News

A paper entitled "A Discovery of Strong Metal–Support Bonding in Nanoengineered Au–Fe3O4 Dumbbell-like Nanoparticles by in Situ Transmission Electron Microscopy" has been published in Nano Letters. The publication is a result of a collaborative effort between Michael Manto, Dr. Chao Wang, and colleagues at the Purdue Catalysis Center and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The project was funded by the interdisciplinary NSF Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) program. Key findings in this publication include the discovery of strong metal-support interactions and adhesion between gold and reduced iron oxide in Au-Fe3O4 heterodimer nanoparticles, yielding exciting insights into optimizing and improving catalysts. Congratulations, all!...

Researchers from the Wang Group presented their work at the 254th ACS National Meeting in Washington, DC (August 20 - 24, 2017). Congratulations to the following researchers on their successful presentations! Oral Presentations: D. Raciti, C. Wang, "Interplay of mass transfer and local pH effects in CO2 reduction electrocatalysis." L. Wang, C. Wang, "Core-Shell nanostructures in electrocatalysis." D. Raciti, C. Wang, "Highly dense Cu nanowires for electrochemical conversion of CO2." Y. Liu, C. Wang, "Exploring catalyst for the ethanol oxidation reaction." M. J. Manto, P. Xie, M. A. Keller, W. E. Liano, T. Pu, C. Wang, "Recovery of inorganic phosphorus using copper-substituted ZSM-5." P. Xie, T. Pu, C. Wang "Application of adsorption-compression theory in gas phase heterogeneous catalytic reaction: Promising proof through direct NO decomposition over Cu-ZSM-5." Poster Presentations: M. J. Manto, P. Xie, C. Wang, "Catalytic dephosphorylation using ceria nanocrystals: Effects of surface oxygen vacancies." M. J. Manto, P. Xie, M. A. Keller, W. E. Liano, T. Pu, C. Wang, "Phosphate...

Ph.D. candidate Michael Manto was awarded the AIChE Catalysis & Reaction Engineering Division Travel Award for his research on catalytic dephosphorylation using ceria nanomaterials. The award recognizes outstanding research in the catalysis field. Congratulations!...

Ph.D. candidate Michael Manto was awarded the AIChE Separations Division Graduate Student Research Award in the adsorption and ion exchange category for his work with Cu-exchanged ZSM-5 and inorganic phosphorus recovery. The award recognizes outstanding graduate research in the separations field, with particular emphasis on technical content and writing quality. Congratulations!...

Researchers from the Wang Group presented their work at the 2017 AIChE Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN (October 29- November 3, 2017). Congratulations to the following researchers on their successful presentations! Oral Presentations: M. J. Manto, P. Xie, M. A. Keller, W. E. Liano, T. Pu, C. Wang, "Recovery of Inorganic Phosphorus Via Metal-Exchanged ZSM-5." M. J. Manto, P. Xie, C. Wang, "Heterogeneous Dephosphorylation Using Ceria Nanocatalysts: Identifying the Active Site and the Rate-Determining Step." D. Raciti, C. Wang, "Interplay of Mass Transfer and Local pH Effects in CO2 Reduction Electrocatalysis."...

Dr. Chao Wang has been awarded an NSF grant for the group's research on catalytic dephosphorylation using ceria nanocrystals. The grant is part of the NSF's Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) initiative. The goal of this initiative is to produce foundational research aimed at mitigating and adapting to environmental changes affecting sustainability. Special focus is centered on developing novel technologies concerning the availability of nitrogen, phosphorus and water, which are the three main factors affecting modern agriculture. Congratulations!...

A recent paper prepared by David Raciti and Liang Cao (Mueller Lab, JHU Materials Science and Engineering) in collaboration with the labs of Dr. Kevin Hemker (JHU, Mechanical Engineering) and Dr. Kit Bowen (JHU, Chemistry) entitled "Low Over-Potential Electroreduction of Carbon Monoxide Using Copper Nanowires" has been published in ACS Catalysis. This paper investigates Cu nanowires as highly active and selective catalysts for electroreduction of CO at low overpotentials. Optimized Cu nanowires achieved 65% faradaic efficiency (FE) for CO reduction and 50% FE toward production of ethanol at potentials more positive than −0.5 V (versus reversible hydrogen electrode, RHE). Structural analyses and computational simulations suggest that the CO reduction activity may be associated with the coordinately unsaturated (110) surface sites on the Cu nanowires. Congratulations!...

Charlie Guan has received the Provost's Undergraduate Research Award (PURA) to fund his proposal entitled "Graphene-Supported Metals and Metal Oxides for Water Purification." PURA provides grants to exceptional undergraduates who take on unique research projects.  Congratulations, Charlie!...

Undergraduate research assistants, Mitchell Keller and Wilhelm Liano, attended the 2017 AIChE Mid-Atlantic Student Conference at Rowan University in Glassboro, NJ with their mentor, Ph.D. candidate, Michael Manto. Wilhelm presented his work on dephosphorylation of biomolecules using ceria nanocatalysts. Mitchell reported his results with ZSM-5 for phosphorus recovery and was awarded Third Place as part of the conference's paper competition.  Mitchell and Wilhelm will both continue their research in the Wang Group as M.S.E. candidates.  Congratulations!...

A recent paper prepared by Michael Manto and Pengfei Xie entitled Catalytic Dephosphorylation Using Ceria Nanocrystals has been published in ACS Catalysis. The dephosphorylation reaction was studied on CeO2 nanocrystals at various temperatures to evaluate the dependencies of turnover frequency, activation energy, and recyclability on morphology. The structure-property relationships established in this study have demonstrated for the first time that surface oxygen vacancies on CeO2 are the active sites for dephosphorylation. Congratulations, Mike and Pengfei!  ...