ABSTRACT CTS-9733066 Raul F. Lobo/U. Del. This grant is awarded through the Interfacial, Transport and Separations Program of the Chemical and Transport Systems Division. The principal investigator is Dr. Raul Lobo at the University of Delaware. The research will investigate structure-property relationships of zeolite adsorbents used in gas separations. The research will involve characterizations of the adsorption sites using a combination of neutron, x-ray and NMR techniques, and studies to understand intermolecular interactions within zeolitic pores. The educational plan consists of (i) integration of research as part of undergraduate education (ii) development of courses at the graduate and sophomore level (iii) provide mentorship in a Resources to Insure Successful Engineers program. The fundamental understanding of molecular phenomena within zeolite pores is of utmost interest to the chemicals processing industries. There are numerous reaction and separation processes that use zeolites as catalysts and adsorbents. The research could have an impact in the preparation of a new generation of zeolite adsorbents. The results of the research may have implications for the catalytic application of alkali-metal exchanged zeolites and the use of Li-containing zeolites as solid-state ion conductors. ***
