Carmine D'Agostino
Research Associate
| Position | PhD student |
|---|---|
| College | Wolfson |
| Qualifications/honours | MEng in Chemical Engineering, Universita di Napoli Federico II, 2006. BEng in Chemical Engineering, Universita di Napoli Federico II, 2004. |
| cd419@cam.ac.uk | |
| Research group | Magnetic Resonance, Catalysis |
| Research project title | The glycerol challenge |
| Supervisor | Prof Gladden |
| Advisor | Dr Mantle |
Research description
Heterogeneous catalysis is an essential technology with applications in numerous fields such as production of chemicals, pharmaceutical, polymers, in fuel cell and in pollution control systems. Even though our understanding of the way solid surfaces can interact with molecules, break them down, and form new products has increased enormously, catalysts are still predominantly developed by an intuitive trial-and-error approach. Moreover, the liquid-phase behaviour of heterogeneous catalytic reactions is still unclear.
Adsorption and diffusion of reactants, products and solvents play a key role in determining the overall activity of a chemical reaction in porous catalysts. In recent years, Pulsed-Field Gradient (PFG)-NMR diffusometry and NMR relaxometry have emerged as non-invasive, chemically selective techniques to study diffusion and adsorption in porous media.
My field of research focuses on the application of several NMR techniques to study and understand the behaviour of porous catalysts with the final goal of developing and establishing a novel methodology to characterize them, which will then allow a more rational design of heterogeneous catalytic processes.
Research keywords
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), heterogeneous catalysis, ionic liquids, green chemistryMain collaborators
University of Cardiff, Imperial College London, University of Leicester, Queen's University BelfastKey publications
- "Molecular motion and ion diffusion in choline chloride-based deep eutectics solvents studied by 1H pulsed-field-gradient NMR spectroscopy", C. D'Agostino, A. P. Abbott, R. C. Harris, L. F. Gladden, M. D. Mantle, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, 2011.
- "Prediction of binary diffusion coefficients in non-ideal mixtures from NMR data: hexane-nitrobenzene near its consolute point", C. D'Agostino, M.D. Mantle, L. F. Gladden, G. Moggridge, Chemical Engineering Science, 66, 3898-3906, 2011.
- "Pulsed-Field gradient NMR spectroscopic studies of alcohols in supported gold catalysts", M. D. Mantle, D. I. Enache, E. Nowicka, S. P. Davies, J. K. Edwards, C. D'Agostino, D. P. Mascarenhas, L. Durham, M. Sankar, D. W. Knight, L. F. Gladden, S. H. Taylor and G. J. Hutchings, Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 115, 1073-1079, 2011.
- "Glycerol Eutectics as sustainable solvent systems", A. P. Abbott, R. C. Harris, K. S. Ryder, C. D'Agostino, L. F. Gladden, M. D. Mantle, Green Chemistry, 13, 82-90, 2011.