Dr. Miljkovic has developed microstructured aluminum (Al) tubes with increased heat transfer rates of 240% during refrigerant flow boiling. Highly conformal are generated...
Dr. Miljkovic has developed microstructured aluminum (Al) tubes with increased heat transfer rates of 240% during refrigerant flow boiling. Highly conformal are generated by a scalable etching technique. The cost-effective techniques used to create etched-Al microstructures stand to significantly reduce manufacturing cost and time required for current enhancement approaches such as extrusion, drawing, and welding. At the same time increased performance is ensured on the thermal side. In addition, the fabricated etched structures are highly durable due to structure formation based on the base metal, and therefore do not suffer from thermal expansion coefficient mismatch issues, as is the case with other enhancements.
Professor Xiao Su and colleagues have developed an electrochemical system for the separation and reutilization of homogenous catalysts including Pt and Pd-cross coupling...
Professor Xiao Su and colleagues have developed an electrochemical system for the separation and reutilization of homogenous catalysts including Pt and Pd-cross coupling catalysts and many other noble metal homogenous catalysts. This catalyst recycling system allows for the direct capture of a homogenous catalysts from a reaction mixture, the captured catalyst can then be desorbed into a new reaction mixture. Notably, this catalyst capture and release system operates without chemically altering the catalyst species thus this system maintains the original catalyst activity. This electrochemical system utilizes redox polymer electrodes allowing for the >99% catalyst adsorption within a 5-minute period. The adsorption properties of this system can be easily adjusted by modifying the applied current and electrode dimensions. Furthermore, >99% of the catalyst adsorbed can be released from the redox electrodes resulting in a highly efficient catalyst recycling system.
Researchers have developed a dry surface and shape adaptive thin shape memory polymer adhesive specifically targeting flexible fabric adherends. Current temporary or...
Researchers have developed a dry surface and shape adaptive thin shape memory polymer adhesive specifically targeting flexible fabric adherends. Current temporary or permanent adhesives for lightweight fabrics lack reusability, shape and surface adaptability. The invention uses unique characteristics of shape memory polymer to create a surface and shape adaptive adhesive that leaves no residue, can be reused, is washable and has high holding strength. The primary application of this invention will be to use as thin flexible adhesive for fabrics.
Rare-earth metals are increasingly incorporated into our technology. These natural resources are limited, and there are currently few recycling efforts for these raw...
Rare-earth metals are increasingly incorporated into our technology. These natural resources are limited, and there are currently few recycling efforts for these raw materials. Furthermore, the release of rare-earth metals into streams and rivers is a major concern for the environment with unpredictable impact on wildlife. Using electrochemistry, the Su Lab has developed a material that can selectively capture these rare-earth metals from streams and rivers in a green and sustainable manner, thus providing a way to for recycling and water-remediation.
Kyle Smith has improved current flow channel designs by integrating the flow channel inside of the electrode. This enables his design to improve current electrode...
Kyle Smith has improved current flow channel designs by integrating the flow channel inside of the electrode. This enables his design to improve current electrode performance by a factor of 1000. Furthermore, Dr. Smith has improved the shape and arrangement of his flow channels by arranging them in a hierarchical fashion and creating a cube-root shape. This results in an optimized and improved flow channel that makes the electrodes much more permeable than current designs. Effectively, these electrodes can now have a flow with very low amounts of pressure required.
Dr. Kyle Smith and his research group have developed a battery-based alkaline electrochemical cycle that can capture CO2 under concentrated and atmospheric conditions and...
Dr. Kyle Smith and his research group have developed a battery-based alkaline electrochemical cycle that can capture CO2 under concentrated and atmospheric conditions and mineralizing it. This invention has a CO2 capturing efficiency of rates up to 1000 times greater than other similar electrochemical cycling methods. Indeed, a prior test found that using the new approach developed by Dr. Smith, up to 2 mol- CO2 /L were absorbed, while under the traditional approach only 2 μmol- CO2 /L were absorbed. This invention can be applied toward the capture and storage of CO2 from flue gas and also applied towards the capture of CO2 under atmospheric conditions.
