This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).
This award supports the renovation and reconfiguration of approximately 5,237 square feet of research laboratories at Kansas State University's Durland Hall into collaborative research suites for bioenergy and energy efficiency research. The renovation will create research laboratory space that is designed around an open concept for research by multiple researchers and graduate students working on multiple projects. More specifically, the renovation will consist of demolishing or renovating: walls, doors and hardware, floor and ceiling finishes, ventilation duct work, exhaust and supply units, power distribution systems, lighting, plumbing, and fire protection. Overall, the proposed renovation will construct two flexible Chemical Engineering laboratories for chemical preparation, research, and computation. All new systems and space being constructed will be energy efficient and flexible for future expansion and research.
Intellectual Merit: The development of sustainable and economically viable energy sources is one of the key technological challenges currently facing science and engineering. New technologies historically have been advanced through focused research on numerous components in academic and industrial "silos" and the subsequent integration of these discoveries into an efficient system. Because each component was independently developed, integration can take years and require significant refinement of the individual technologies. For example, significant resources may be focused in one facility member's lab to produce ethanol from cellulosic feedstock, but the very significant energy need of ethanol/water separation is not addressed. Another researcher may try to address the ethanol/water separation in another lab. The synergy of connecting these issues may naturally arise if two doctoral students worked side by side in the same space, not in laboratory "silos." Using the new laboratory suites, researchers will have the tools to develop solutions to one of the grand challenges facing engineers in the 21st century: Sustainable Energy Production. Research activities that will use the renovated facility include an NSF-supported IGERT award on Integrating the Social, Technological, and Agricultural Aspects of Sustainable and Renewable Biorefining, an NSF-supported REU site on Earth, Wind, and Fire that relates to alternative fuels, and the Kansas Center of Innovation in BioRefining and BioEnergy.
Broader Impacts: These laboratories will allow for the refinement of a new research and research training model with a systems-based focus that thoroughly integrates students from various disciplines in collaborative research spaces. The institution plans on documenting its findings in this area, publishing them in journal articles, and presenting them at national conferences.
This project involved the renovation of approximately 5337 square feet occupying the second floor of Durland Hall, Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. In the renovation, 10 student offices and 10 small laboratories were combined to produce two large multi-user spaces. Each of the new spaces includes partitions that create for a total of five interconnected laboratories within the two spaces. Each of the five interconnected laboratories now includes appropriate fume hoods, lab benches, and chemical handling facilities. Additionally, adjacent to the door leading into each laboratory is a safety station that includes eye wash facilities, safety showers, fire extinguisher, and any necessary personal protection equipment for laboratory visitors. The laboratories were designed to meet the specific requirements for current research in the department. Using these renovated laboratories, research relating to energy efficiency and sustainable energy was conducted. Specifically, three separate studies were conducted. In the first, the epitaxial growth of thick icosahedral boron arsenide films was studied. Techniques for the rapid deposition of a thick icosahedral boron phosphide (BP) films were developed. Thick layers are necessary to capture a high percentage of the energy available in direct nuclear-to-electrical energy conversion devices and thermoelectric devices; efficient devices require thick layers. The new fume hood for the chemical vapor deposition reactor was specifically designed for handling toxic gases. Improved safety features will enable the use of pure forms of the gases, so cylinder changes and material costs are minimized. The thick BP films developed have potential application in thermoelectric devices. In the second, graphene sheets were functionalized with a monolayer of h6-bonded metal carbonyl while reducing graphene’s conductivity by no more than 1000 fold relative to the prefunctionalized graphene. Graphene is a single-atom-thick, two-dimensional sheet of sp2 hybridized (double-bonded) carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb lattice. Pristine graphene exhibits extraordinary electrical, optical, and mechanical properties and is a strong candidate for transparent electrode for photovoltaics, field-effect transistors, and sensors. However, incorporation of graphene into these applications requires its functionalization. The existing functionalization routes deteriorate graphene’s properties, reducing its conductivity by 106. h6 functionalization does not introduce scattering sites on graphene and reduces carrier density less dramatically. In this study, large area graphene sheets and nanostructures were synthesized and functionalized with several chemical groups, including h6. The functionalized graphene sheets and quantum materials were interfaced with biological species for biomedical applications (sensor) and electronic devices (FETs, electron tunneling). In the third, the development of catalysts for hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass was completed. This work included synthesis and characterization of two types of acid-functionalized nanoparticles via direct bonding of a diacid to a magnetite core: carboxylic acid-functionalized nanoparticles (CSNPs) formed via binding of 11-sulfoundecanoic acid to magnetite and phosphonic acid-functionalized nanoparticles (PSNPs) formed via binding of 10-phosphono-1-decanesulfonic acid to magnetite. When tested for sucrose and starch hydrolysis, the developed catalysts showed enhanced activity relative to relative to an industrial catalyst (Amberlyst-15). Finally, programs were implemented that enhanced research participation by students from underrepresented groups. Undergraduate students were incorporated in research teams that worked collaboratively within the renovated laboratory space. Seventeen undergraduate students were supported in the conduction of independent research projects. Ultimately, the production of renewable fuels and materials for sustainable energy production are important to ensure that future generations have the energy supply they need to have a high quality of life. Research in the renovated laboratory is developing new catalysts and catalytic processes for synthesizing biofuels and new materials for energy efficiency and energy conversion, potentially finding solutions to society's energy problem.
