Faculty Mentor
Cheng Zhang
Major/Area of Research
Forensic Science
Description
Methane is a main component of many natural gas reserves. It is fundamental for an effective method to be developed for inexpensive and abundant methane to be converted to value added chemicals, such as methanol, formaldehyde, acetic acid, carbon monoxide, and fuel. The primary goal of this research is for the development of an innovative silver-based catalyst for effective conversion of methane to methanol. The Ag-based solution we developed can be tuned to be either acidic or basic to adapt to different catalyst support. The solution was characterized by Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and the Ag adsorption was determined. The heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized on alumina support (acidic) and active carbon support (basic) via Wet Incipient Impregnation method. The synthesized catalyst is to be tested for CO2 hydrogenation at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL). To establish relationship between activity and properties, solid characterization of the catalyst will be carried out in detail through infrared spectroscopy (IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) method for surface area, pore size, and volume. This research has the potential to contribute to the field by establishing an alternative, more effective method of utilizing methane.
Included in
Innovative Silver-Based Catalyst for Oxidation of Methane to Methanol
Methane is a main component of many natural gas reserves. It is fundamental for an effective method to be developed for inexpensive and abundant methane to be converted to value added chemicals, such as methanol, formaldehyde, acetic acid, carbon monoxide, and fuel. The primary goal of this research is for the development of an innovative silver-based catalyst for effective conversion of methane to methanol. The Ag-based solution we developed can be tuned to be either acidic or basic to adapt to different catalyst support. The solution was characterized by Ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy and the Ag adsorption was determined. The heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized on alumina support (acidic) and active carbon support (basic) via Wet Incipient Impregnation method. The synthesized catalyst is to be tested for CO2 hydrogenation at Brookhaven National Lab (BNL). To establish relationship between activity and properties, solid characterization of the catalyst will be carried out in detail through infrared spectroscopy (IR), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) method for surface area, pore size, and volume. This research has the potential to contribute to the field by establishing an alternative, more effective method of utilizing methane.