Chemical Engineering Course
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Research
Interests
My research interests are in glass and ceramic synthesis; fine
particle technology; polymer-inorganic nanocomposites; environmental
thermodynamics; and reaction engineering.
Ceramics, fine particles, and engineered nanostructures
In the area of ceramics and particle technology, we are learning
to make novel nanoscale structures for use as electrodes, catalysts,
biomaterials, and membranes. Specific current research includes
the development of polymer/inorganic nanofibers for tissue scaffolds,
electrosynthesis of new hybrid materials, porous carbon electrodes
for battery and fuel cell applications, the development of zeolite
membranes for gas phase separations and reactions, the production
of nanometer scale polymer/ceramic particles, and the synthesis
of polymer-inorganic nanocomposites for biomedical, electronic
and photonic applications.
The treatment of ceramic, polymer, and particulate surfaces
fits into the mix of new technologies for these advanced materials.
We employ sol-gel, vapor, and plasma techniques to modify surfaces
to achieve the desired catalytic, electronic, or physical properties.
Our group uses a variety of spectroscopic techniques including
FTIR, Raman, electrochemistry, and X-ray analysis to characterize
the chemistry and structure of the materials. For physical analysis
we employ electron microscopy, thermal analysis, gas adsorption,
and cyclic voltametry among other methods.
Environmental thermodynamics and kinetics
An understanding of the partitioning and reaction of contaminants in the environment is crucial to the design of clean industrial processes and for fate assessment studies. Whether these contaminants end up in groundwater, soil, air, or even in humans is a function of their thermodynamic behavior in each of these compartments. Since most environmental contaminants are dilute, we have spent the past decade studying dilute solution thermodynamics and partitioning experimentally and theoretically. We are currently involved in measuring vapor-liquid equilibria for mixed solvent/electrolyte systems, and developing models to predict the behavior of such systems.
Selected Publications
- KenHeng See, Michael E. Mullins, and Patricia A. Heiden.
“A Reactive Core-Shell Nanoparticle Approach to Prepare
Hybrid Nanocomposites: Effects of processing variables.”
Nanotechnology 16, (9), 1950-1959 (2005).
- Bovornlak Oonkhanond and M.E. Mullins, “Electrical double-layer
effects on the deposition of zeolite A on surfaces.” Journal
of Colloid and Interface Science 284, 210-215 (2005)
- Bovornlak Oonkhanond and M.E. Mullins, "The Preparation
and analysis of zeolite ZSM-5 membranes on porous alumina
supports." Journal of Membrane Science 194, 3-13 (2001).
- Y. Choi, J. K. Lee, and M.E. Mullins. "Densification
Process of TiCx-Ni Composites Formed by Self-Propagating
High-Temperature Synthesis Reaction", Journal of Material
Science, 32, 1717 (1997).
- A. A. Kline, T.N. Rogers, M.E. Mullins, B.C. Cornilsen,
and Lj. M. Sokolov, "Sol-Gel Kinetics for the Synthesis
of Multi-component Glass Materials", Journal of Sol-Gel
Science and Technology 2, 269-272 (1994).
Environmental thermodynamics and kinetics
An understanding of the partitioning and reaction of contaminants
in the environment is crucial to the design of clean industrial
processes and for fate assessment studies. Whether these contaminants
end up in groundwater, soil, air, or even in humans is a function
of their thermodynamic behavior in each of these compartments.
Since most environmental contaminants are dilute, we have spent
the past decade studying dilute solution thermodynamics and
partitioning experimentally and theoretically. We are currently
involved in measuring vapor-liquid equilibria for mixed solvent/electrolyte
systems, and developing models to predict the behavior of such
systems.
Similarly, our research group has studied the kinetics of both
natural reaction processes, such as hydrolysis, photolysis,
and biodegradation, as well as the kinetics of engineered aqueous
and air decontamination processes. This later set of technologies
includes the design of oxidation reactors for waste stream cleanup
utilizing ozone, catalytic wet oxidation, plasma and thermal
oxidation, and photocatalysis.
Selected
Publications
- 1.
Pariyachat Chatkun Na Ayuttaya, T.N.Rogers, M.E. Mullins,
and A.A. Kline "Henry's law constants derived from
equilibrium static cell measurements for dilute organic-water
mixtures " Fluid Phase Equilibria, 185, 359-377 (2001).
- 2. M. E. Mullins, T. N. Rogers, and A. Loll. "Estimation
of Henry’s Constants for Aqueous Systems at Elevated Temperatures",
Fluid Phase Equilibria, 150, 245 (1998).
- 3. L. M. Kindt, M.E. Mullins, D. W. Hand, A. A. Kline, D.L.
Carter, and J.D. Garr. “Catalytic Oxidation Model Development
of the Volatile Reactor Assembly Unit of the International
Space Station Water Processor”, SAE Technical Paper Series,
951630, SAE International (1995).
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