Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Document Type

Poster

Publication Date

Spring 5-2019

Faculty Advisor(s)

Jerry LaRue, Molla Islam

Abstract

Heterogeneous reactions at the gas-solid interface play a major role in many important industrial and environmental processes. These reactions typically rely on metal surfaces, to act as a catalyst between gas phase reactants and products. The catalysts lower the transition state barrier in the formation of the products. The mechanisms of reactions on catalysts is often not fully known due to the difficulty of observing the bond breakage and formation between gaseous molecules at the interface. One method in which the catalytic mechanism can be studied is by using Raman Spectroscopy. However, one drawback of this method is the fact that Raman Spectroscopy relies on Raman scattering effect, which needs to be enhanced using a specialized surface called Raman-active surface. This study aims to address those challenges by creating surfaces that are both catalytically active and Raman enhancing, specifically from raw polycrystalline gold foil and ruthenium. The gold sample will undergo three main preparation steps: 1) smoothening for uniformity, 2) microscopic roughening for Raman enhancing structure, and 3) deposition of ruthenium for catalytic activity. The roughness of the surface are visualized using Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and electrochemically analyzed throughout each step utilizing the electrochemical cells. Ultimately, the sample is investigated using Raman Spectroscopy in oxidation reaction of CO. This study hopes to comprise a comprehensive and efficient procedure for creating more Raman-active surfaces from widely available raw materials.

Comments

Presented at the Spring 2019 Student Scholar Symposium at Chapman University.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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