Undergraduate Research Assistant
Current- Perform ring opening, hydrodeoxygenation of biomass-derived furanic compounds for use as precursors for platform chemicals, replacing fossil fuel feedstocks- Synthesize heterogeneous catalysts using incipient wetness impregnation technique- Run screening reactions in block reactor- Wired replacement motor for controlling stirring mechanism for block reactor- Analyze results using python script I wrote to interpret raw data from HPLC- Characterize catalysts using Micrometrics ASAP 2920 (CO-pulse, O2-pulse, H2-TPR, NH3 TPD)- Run kinetic experiments to calculate turnover frequencies, identifying role of multiple active sites in this reaction mechanism- Optimize catalyst and conditions, achieving highest reported yield (79%) of adipic acid from tetrahydrofuran 2,5-dicarboxylic acid or furan 2,5-dicarboxylic acid using metal-metal oxide catalyst