synthesis and surface characterization of carbon nanotubes and novel silica-based nanoporous materials for adsorption and heterogeneous catalysis

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Carbon nanotubes and silica-based nanoporous materials are an important part of nanoscale science and engineering and, as such, are paving the way for the development of a wide array of new materials, which will be used as building blocks for novel chemical and biochemical processes and technologies. The surfaces and interphases that define nanotubes and nanostructures strongly influence, and often dominate, their behavior. Surface characterization is key to their control and therefore cruical to further advance. Recently, we have acquired state-of-the-art infrastructure equipment for surface characterization of nanoporous materials through the CFI grant (Leaders Opportunity Fund program). This will greatly enhance our capabilities to obtain critical information in understanding complex adsorption/diffusion and catalytic phenomena in nanoporous materials. In this proposal we will synthesize and characterize active surfaces of carbon nanotubes and novel mesostructured nanoporous materials. The ultimate objective of the proposed characterizations is to relate adsorption/diffusion properties to the structure of CNT's and novel nanoporous, composite materials. This will allow us to refine the material pore system in a controlled way to obtain the properties required for specific applications. The originality of the research stems from the specific methodology that will be used to characterize materials produced in our labs and to relate the properties of these solids to the requirements of specific fields of application, such as gas and liquid separations, based on adsorption and chromatography and the heterogeneous catalysis of reactions related to bio-fuel synthesis.