Chemistry and Biochemistry Department
Upcoming Thesis Defense
Jacob McKenzie
Brozek Lab
Thursday, May 9, 2024
3:00pm in 240A Mckenzie Hall
and via ZOOM
contact Chemistry and Biochemistry office for Zoom Link
Thesis title and abstract:
“Charge Transport Phenomena in High Surface Area Materials”
While the design of conductive metal organic frameworks (MOFs) and other framework materials for energy storage have seen a major surge in recent years, there are still fundamental questions that remain unanswered. With literature abound describing ion and solvent dependent conductivity in mesoporous media and nonporous conductive polymers we expect such phenomena to be heightened and unique at the interfacial extremes that microporous materials, and 2D Van Der Waals materials possess. We utilize the unique properties of Fe based materials to design model systems in the microporous TMA2FeGe4S10 (TMA: tetramethyl ammonium) and 2D Van Der Waal structure, Fe(SCN)2(pyz)2 to study the impact of solvent and electrochemically inert ions on charge transfer and transport. Taken together, this dissertation describes for the first-time substantial solvent and ion interactions at interfacial extremes, which can’t be neglected in the design of future energy storage technologies, critical to combating increased CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion.