Level of Education of Students Involved

Undergraduate

Faculty Sponsor

Jennifer Holt

College

Arts and Sciences

Discipline(s)

Chemistry, Materials Science

ORCID Identifier(s)

0009-0007-3831-6245

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 4-25-2024

Abstract

Materials chemistry looks at the characterization and application of materials with useful or interesting properties. Zeolites are an example of this, and are a porous host material that can contain other molecules and show unique properties. Zeolites can be used as energy transfer materials or as a microreactor due to their ability to organize other guest molecules. The focus of this research aims to clarify the understanding of how Linde Type L zeolite interacts with a guest molecule, specifically Brooker’s Merocyanine, which was chosen due to its zwitterionic character. These chemicals have been studied at length on their own, but together not a full fundamental understanding is well established. When combined, experimental spectroscopic results indicate that the dye is adsorbed to the zeolite. However, BET analysis, which is a gas measurement of internal surface area of the zeolite pores, indicates that the dye is not found within the pores of the host material. My research project modeled a zeolite L crystal with a Brooker’s Merocyanine molecule located at various locations through computational methods to determine the binding energy difference of the zeolite pore compared to the outer surface.

Biographical Information about Author(s)

Damon Virgo is a second-year undergraduate student at Valparaiso University, studying chemistry with a minor in math. Damon hopes to use the research he's in now in order to be better equipped when he hopefully goes to study medicinal research. I became interested in this topic because the topic looks at fundamental properties of materials.

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