This Nanoscale Exploratory Research (NER) award to Illinois Institute of Technology is supported by Divisions of Chemistry (MPS) and Chemical Transport Systems (ENG), and this proposal was submitted in response to the solicitation "Nanoscale Science and Engineering" (NSF 01-157). With this award, Professor Khan in collaboration with Drs. Chris Marshall (Argonne National Laboratory) and Robert Doedens (Univ. California Irvine) will design and develop novel nanostructured zeolite like materials based on nanometer-sized transition metal oxide clusters. Porous nanocomposites will be prepared from clusters of polyoxometalates such as polyoxovanadate and their derivatives with linker groups such as pyrazine, 1,4-dicyanobenzene and related organic ligands. The composites prepared will be characterized by a number of physicochemical techniques including spectroscopy (infrared, UV-visible, and x-ray absorption spectroscopy), single crystal structure analysis, thermal methods, and surface area measurements. Detoxification of oxides of nitrogen will also be carried out using the catalysts prepared. Training undergraduate and graduate students in this interdisciplinary program is part of the project.
Zeolite-type porous catalytic materials based on transition metal oxides will be synthesized and characterized for the eventual application in the detoxification of oxides of nitrogen. These nanocomposite catalysts will be based on nanometer sized clusters of polyoxometalates and their derivatives linked by organic ligands. With this award, both graduate and undergraduate students will be trained in this interdisciplinary research program.
