Program Highlights

The energy content of the world’s standing terrestrial biomass carbon (i.e., the renewable, above-ground biomass that could be harvested and potentially used as an energy resource) is estimated as approximately 100 times the world’s total annual energy consumption.¹

Porous silica with acid and metallic catalytic functions.

The catalytic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into intermediates that can be used to produce fuels and high-value chemicals, as well as substitutes for petroleum-based feedstocks in an integrated biorefinery, is a novel technology that can help meet the growing energy demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The objective of the PREM program is to expand and strengthen the research and educational activities of the multidisciplinary W. M. Keck Computational Materials Theory Center (CMTC) at California State University Northridge (CSUN), a Hispanic-serving institution, by forming a formal and long-term collaborative relationship with the Princeton Center for Complex Materials (PCCM). The goals of the PREM program are to: (1) foster multidisciplinary and innovative research in computational materials science; (2) educate and train students in cutting-edge computational materials science; (3) stimulate and develop strong university-industry-national laboratory partnerships; and (4) increase recruitment, retention, and degree attainment of minority students.

Dulal Senapati, Anant K Singh and Paresh Chandra Ray

Department of Chemistry, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, USA

Acknowledgements: Dr. Ray thanks NSF-PREM grant # DMR-0611539 and NIH-SCORE grant # S06GM 008047 and DOD grant # W 912HZ-06-C-0057 for their generous funding

We have demonstrated that real time evolution of intermediates of colloidal nanocrystals can be fully accessed during the synthesis of anisotropic shaped gold nanoparticles.  Our experimental data provide unique and convincing information for understanding the growth mechanisms of how the shape control works for gold anisotropic nanocrystals

(Published in Chem. Phys. Lett., 2010, 487, 88-91 )

The aim of the project is to develop a continuous and environmentally friendly process using twin screw extrusion technology for enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass to simple sugars and other high value end products. A significant finding of our current research is that commercially available enzymes (cellulases) are active in N-methyl morpholine oxide (NMMO) - a solvent used for dissolving cellulose. Till date, most solvents used for dissolving cellulose (ionic liquids) kill the cellulases. This prevents a continuous process from being developed thus significantly increasing the costs of processing. Our finding will cut down on these costs and help develop a continuous process for biomass conversion. Future work will involve carrying out the enzymatic reactions in the twin screw reactor and developing the continuous process.

During the 2008 Sigma Xi Annual Meeting and Student Research Conference held in Washington, DC on November 20-23, 2008 UPRM PREM student Ronald Carrasquillo (Chemical Engineering) presented the poster titled "Development of an Alternative Aluminum Matrix Composite for Bearing Applications," which was co-authored by undergraduate students Roberto Rivera (Chemical Engineering) and Yarimar Martínez (Industrial Engineering), and graduate student Tunde Adelakin (Mechanical Engineering). Their poster participated in the Student Poster Competition and received the Superior Award in the Engineering category along with the works by Shiv Gaglani (Harvard University) and Faisal Reza (Duke University). The award consisted of a diploma, a medal and cash prize.

In July 2008 the Board of Directors of the Materials Research Society (MRS) has unanimously approved the establishment of an MRS chapter at the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez (UPRM).

The summer of 2008 has become the most active season for outreach to diverse groups for the UPRM/UW PREM. Besides the scheduled research activities involving public high school teachers, this PREM partnered with other UPRM initiatives intended to attract and retain students interested in Engineering and Science.

In early July five teachers from Mayagüez, Cabo Rojo, and San Sebastián have completed their projects on themes ranging from nanoparticles for explosive detection to synthesis of high coercivity nanostructured oxides. The outcomes of the projects were praised by representatives from the Puerto Rico Department of Education who attended the final presentations.

Cobalt ferrite (CoFe₂O₄) possesses excellent chemical stability, good mechanical hardness and a large positive first order crystalline anisotropy constant, making it a promising candidate for magneto-optical recording media. In addition to the precise control on the composition and structure of the ferrite, the success of its practical application relies on the capability of controlling crystal size within the superparamagnetic and single domain limits. Accordingly, cobalt ferrite nanocrystals were prepared by a modified aqueous processing route under boiling conditions. The synthesis protocols were modified to achieve a fine control on crystal growth and final size at the nanoscale by tuning of the solution oversaturation. These conditions permitted to achieve room-temperature coercivity as high as 4.6 kOe (from typical 600 Oe) in 12-14 nm CoFe₂O₄ crystals.