Αγαπητοί(ες) Συνάδελφοι και Φοιτητές(τριες)
Ανακοινώνεται ότι ο Dr Devis Di Tommaso
θα δώσει μια ομιλία την Πέμπτη 12 Μαϊου 2022, 1-2 μμ με θέμα:
"Solution additives promoting the onset of MgCO3"
Abstract: I will report recent work on identifying solution composition conditions that could promote the low-temperature
CO2 conversion into magnesite (MgCO3). Formed via aqueous carbonation of Mg2+ ions, the crystallization of magnesite is a promising route to carbon capture and reuse, albeit limited by the slow precipitation of MgCO3. Although magnesite is naturally abundant, forming at low-temperature conditions, its industrial production is an energy-intensive process due to the temperatures required to prevent the formation of hydrated phases. The principal difficulty arises from the very strong Mg2+···H2O interaction, raising barriers to Mg-dehydration. We have used atomistic simulations, complemented by spectroscopic experiments, to investigate the influence of solution additives, ranging from simple halides to more complex molecules, on the early stages of aqueous MgCO3
formation: Mg2+ dehydration; pre-nucleation Mg2+∙∙∙CO32– pairing.
Simulations of hydrated Mg2+, in the absence and presence of several solution additive anions, show that in pure water the metal aquo metal complex, Mg(H2O)62+, is the only stable coordination state; yet anions may stabilise undercoordinated five-hydration configurations. Solution composition can lower the barrier to Mg2+ dehydration and subsequent incorporation into the lattice of Mg-carbonates, promoting low-temperature crystallisation. Through a fundamental understanding of the role of solution additives in the mechanism of Mg2+ dehydration, our results help rationalise previously reported experimental observation of the effect of solvation environments on the growth of magnesite. Towards the end of my presentation, I will report the design a carbonation rig to perform real time, in-situ neutron measurements of CO2 mineralization at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
Bio
Devis was born and raised in Italy. He studied Chemistry at the Universita' degli Studi di Trieste and graduated summa cum laude in 2002. He carried out his doctoral studies in the Theoretical Chemistry group headed by Professor Piero Decleva and, in 2006, he successfully defended the Ph.D. thesis with a work on the application and development of density functional theory methods for the study of molecular photoionization processes.
In 2006, Devis conducted postdoctoral research at the Royal Institution of Great Britain in the group of Professor Richard Catlow, where his work focused on theoretical catalysis.
As part of a Marie-Curie research and training network, in 2007 he moved to University College London in the group of Professor Nora de Leeuw to work on the development and application of computer simulation methods to investigate the nucleation and growth of metal carbonates from solution. In January 2012 he was awarded a Royal Society Industry Fellowship.
Devis joined the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at Queen Mary in September 2013. He was promoted to Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in 2020.
He currently leads an EU-funded consortium, FUNMIN, to accelerate the process of CO2 mineralization from solution.
To link θα είναι:
https://upatras-gr.zoom.us/j/94153412896?pwd=YTZpdjRzM1IvQnJrb2lHU09Cdml3Zz09
Meeting ID: 941 5341 2896
Passcode: 761535
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