| Title |
Education Background |
Research Interests |
Principal Investigator |
Barry Chin Li Cheung |
My research group focuses on the study of nanomaterials chemistry. We are studying the synthesis mechanisms of new materials and their physical and chemical properties with a specific context. The different types of materials we have studied include: Bio-inspired materials, biocomposites, defect engineered catalysts, thermal neutron converter coatings, and low dimensional rare-earth nanostructures. |
Graduate Student |
Deepa Choudhry |
Plasma catalysis is the combination of a catalyst with a plasma to catalyze the conversion of various gas chemicals. Nanostructured cerium oxide (CeOx: x = 1.5 to 2) has catalytic properties to promote redox reactions originating from its intrinsic oxygen capacity and release capacity that is associated with the formation of oxygen vacancy defects. My current research focuses on studying the roles of doped ceria for the CO2 hydrogenation to methanol via plasma catalyzed reactions. I am also interested in studying various doped ceria synthesis method to make the process more efficient. |
Graduate Student |
Matthew Winburn |
My research focuses on the generation and use of plasma-activated water. Plasma activated water is made when a plasma activated gas (such as air) is forced into water, producing different reactive oxygen and nitrogen species. This “activated” liquid can be used in a variety of applications. Current, I am focusing on using it to remediate organic environmental pollutants. |
Graduate Student |
Erika De Leon |
Cerium oxide is known for its catalytic activity stemming from its oxygen vacancy defects. Currently I am working on increasing the oxygen vacancy defects in ceria nanoparticles by doping the nanoparticles with 3d-transition metals. My goal is to then determine the antioxidant properties of these doped ceria nanoparticles and compare them to their pure metal oxide counterparts. |
|
Undergraduate Student |
Jordyn Guse |
Plasma-activated water has a unique composition of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). Depending on their relative concentrations, these RONS can be applied to kill microbes or activate them to produce chemicals to benefit plant growth. Currently, I am working on synthesizing PAW with different concentrations of RONS and studying their effects on plant growth. My research goal is to elucidate the relationships between the applied PAW and the phenotypes of plants grown in the presences of PAW in hydroponic systems. |