Synthesis and Characterization of Structured Nanomaterials for Energy Applications

John N. Kuhn, Assistant Professor
Department of Chemical & Biomedical Engineering
University of South Florida, Tampa, Florida 33620
jnkuhn@usf.edu;813.974.6498

Overview of The Kuhn Group:  The long-term focus of my group is to use materials chemistry and engineering of structured metal and metal oxide materials for developing structure-function relationships that can be used to solve societal problems. Our group combines synthesis and characterization that would enable a more thorough understanding for the function of architecture control. Specifically, our work will involve the development of colloidal chemistry strategies for the synthesis of structured mono- and bi-metallic material architectures and determine the effects of driving forces (e.g., temperature, environment, voltage) on architecture stability and material properties. The materials will be tested for use in photocatalysis, fuel cell, and hydrogen economy applications.

Teacher Project:  Synthesis of Shape-controlled Bimetallic Nanoparticles for Catalysis and Photocatalysis

The goal of this project for the teacher is to synthesize bimetallic nanoparticles of controlled composition with shape control of approximately 50 nm. The teacher will test various scenarios for synthesizing alloy and core-shell configurations in the particles. The teacher will utilize uv-vis spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to characterize the nanoparticles. The first two techniques are available in an adjoining lab, whereas, the TEM and XRD are part of a common-use facility, on which the teacher will receive training to use them.  These nanoparticles will be added to a support and be utilized by other graduate students for catalytic applications, such as oxygen reduction and hydrogenation.

All facilities will be in-place for the teacher to start the project immediately.  The first few days will be spent on re-reading a few relevant journal articles (which will be provided ahead of time), training on laboratory equipment, and discussions with Prof. Kuhn and a couple graduate students. Depending upon progress, co-authorship of a conference presentation and a journal article are possible for the teacher, from this project.