A Story of a Scientist: A Researcher, Mentor, Teacher, Leader, and Advocate
Abstract
In efforts to find renewable and sustainable alternatives to gasoline in transportation vehicles, scientists have been studying the design and use of fuel cells. In a fuel cell, a fuel undergoes a reaction that generates electricity, and that electricity can power a vehicle. One possible solution is the ethanol fuel cell where ethanol can be converted into electricity by using nanoparticle (NP) electrocatalysts. A few issues in ethanol fuel cells include: having a catalyst with less Pt in it as Pt is costly and nonrenewable, having a catalyst with a low onset potential to improve efficiency, and having a catalyst that is selective to the full oxidation of ethanol, which also improves efficiency.In my research, I have synthesized, purified, and characterized PtNiCu NPs for the use of studying the ethanol electrooxidation reaction (EOR) in ethanol fuel cells. To better understand the mechanism of the reaction, I have studied the products generated from the reaction to determine if full vs. partial oxidation is preferred by using an in-situ electrochemical nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technique that I helped develop. I also investigated part of the mechanism of the reaction using in-situ electrochemical infrared (IR) to better understand how Ni improves the EOR reaction. I also investigated part of the mechanism of EOR for a collaborator’s catalyst using in-situ electrochemical IR. The last part of my dissertation also highlights some of my contributions to advancing the scientific community beyond lab research through science communication, leadership, and advocacy.
Description
Ph.D.
Permanent Link
http://hdl.handle.net/10822/1062641Date Published
2021Type
Publisher
Georgetown University
Extent
202 leaves
Collections
Metadata
Show full item recordRelated items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Psychologist as Teacher and Mentor: Affirming Ethical Values Throughout the Curriculum
Kitchener, Karen Strohm (1992-06)