Graduate Student since 2017
Education: The University of Kansas
Thesis Topic/Title: Methanol Homologation over Iron-Containing Zeolites
Thesis Description: Methanol homologation involves methanol reacting with a variety of different hydrocarbons to form olefins and aromatic species. This reaction is catalyzed by zeolites but suffers from coke deposition from polyaromatic species. Creating zeolites with iron instead of aluminum has been shown to produce similar materials; however, these iron-containing zeolites have been shown to be selective to olefins and not aromatics. The aim of this work is to investigate small, medium, and large pore iron-containing zeolites in the methanol to olefins reaction to develop a better mechanistic as well as practical understanding of this reaction. Gas chromatography is used to determine the reaction products and product concentrations. The iron containing zeolites are characterized through X-ray diffraction, UV/VIS spectroscopy, and nitrogen desorption.
Contact: marklaf@udel.edu
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