Tags: Inorganic Seminar


Value-Added Reutilization, Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries

The demand of lithium-ion batteries is quickly increasing largely due to the increased production of electric vehicles.  This rise in battery production will lead to an equivalent rise in waste as these batteries are consumed and discarded.  Currently only about 5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled1.  This low level of recycling is in part due to the cost to recycle and the limitations of the current technologies available at…


Metalloenzyme-Catalyzed Oxidations of Nitric Oxide in Biosynthesis and Nitrosative Stress Protection

Metalloproteins catalyze nitric oxide (NO) chemistries in bioenergetics pathways, natural product biosynthesis pathways, and to protect against cell damage caused by nitrosative stress. Our lab is interested in the mechanisms of oxidative NO-dependent metalloenzymes involved in natural product biosynthesis and nitrosative stress protection. Understanding the mechanisms of these enzymes will enable the engineering of nitration biocatalysts and…


Structure and Dynamics of Enzyme-Ligand Interactions

Essential across all domains of life, enzymes often expedite challenging biological reactions by incorporating transition metal ions whose oxidation and spin states are coordinated with changes in atomic structure. While great strides have been made in the field of metalloenzymology, our understanding of these dynamic processes remains limited as the timescales on which they occur render visualization technically challenging. In this talk, I…


Advances in Carbon-Supported, Iron-Containing Oxygen Electrocatalytic Cathodes in Zinc-Air Batteries

As the population and its demand for electricity increases, the call for renewable energy has been growing ever louder. Unfortunately, these energy sources (namely wind and solar power) can not always meet real-time needs. In order to gain the most from these energy sources while being able to cover their gaps in production, the need for storage of excess energy at the grid-level has become apparent. Current and planned bulk-energy storage…


Probing the Influences of a Lewis Acid on Mn (IV)-Oxo Bonds: A Guide Towards O-O Bond Formation

The process of photosynthesis has been intensely studied since its discovery in the late 1720’s.1 Understanding how plants oxidize water to O2 is of relevant importance due to its potential use in fuel cell technology. Water splitting cells generate H+ and electrons for the fuel cell to use. Inside the chloroplast, plants contain the oxygen evolving complex (OEC) a Mn4O5Ca cluster that is responsible for O2 evolution.2 It has been demonstrated…


Bismuth Nanoparticle Incorporated Composites for Lightweight Radiation Shielding

The development of radiation-based medical technologies, nuclear energy, and the ambitions of space exploration have greatly increased the incidence of human radiation exposure over the past decades. Given their exceptional radiation attenuating properties, lead-based materials have predominantly been used as the preferred shielding material for personnel and equipment. However, the toxicity and heavy weight of lead-based materials gives rise to…


Near-Infrared Luminescent Materials: From Archaeological Significance to Biomedical Applications

Near infrared (NIR) luminescent materials have emerged as a growing field of interest, particularly for biomedical imaging and optics applications1 including but not limited to transition metal based NIR luminescent pigments. Egyptian blue (CaCuSi4O10), an inorganic pigment with Cu2+ as the photoactive luminescent center (emission at λ = 910 nm), has several applications such as environmental optical sensing material2 and fingerprint…


Crystal Growth of Group IV Transition Metal Di- and Tritellurides

A significant amount of research has focused on the synthesis, characterization, and properties of 2D and quasi-1D layered materials since graphene’s remarkable discovery in 2004. Specifically, researchers have gravitated towards low-dimensional materials as the most promising way to construct cheaper and faster devices that can improve state-of-the-art silicon-based technology within the electronics industry. Examples include the transition…


Photodynamic Therapy: Illuminating a Cure for Cancer?

Nearly 40% of the world’s population will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime.1  The current treatment for such diseases usually includes a combination of invasive surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. The focus is on chemotherapy as it is the first line treatment in most cases. This therapy often leads to side effects ranging from mild to severe, and it often is ineffective in a large percentage of cases as a mode of…


Magmas and volcanoes: Decoding the chemical signals leading to magma unrest and eruption

Volcanologists strive to forecast the likelihood, magnitude, and style of eruptions. The competition between gas retention and release exert a major control on magma ascent and eruption, but the mechanisms to predict volcanic eruptions remain unresolved. To contribute to this grand challenge, I apply volcano petrology as a forensic discipline to reconstruct the dynamics of magma ascent in the Earth’s interior and the eruption dynamics of active…
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