A UCF materials science student has won the Best Undergraduate Poster Award at the recent American Vacuum Society conference for a novel method of creating a catalyst for fuel processes.
Luis Tomar, a member of Professor Parag Banerjee’s lab, earned the honor for his work, “Deposition of Cobalt-Doped Zinc Oxide Nanocrystals via Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction,” or SILAR.
Tomar explains that his method of using cobalt-dipped zinc oxides, designed to be used in industrial catalysis, is a specialized process. His catalyst creates syngas, or synthetic gas, a raw material used for a variety of fuel processes that would be used in the oil and gas industries.
“SILAR is a more specific form of dip coating, where you dip your sample — glass in this case — into a solution that you want to coat on the sample,” he says. “It is more unique because you have different solutions within your process, and each one is critical in determining the final material and film quality.”
He says he was motivated to develop his work after using a typical chemical synthesis and, noting the lengthy process, sought a more efficient way to create a catalyst.
“The process was very time consuming, and I wanted to see if there was a way I could simplify it,” Tomar says. “I work in a thin film lab, so looking to a thin film deposition technique felt natural.”
- Written by Bel Huston
- Dec. 13, 2024