Showing 197 results for Author: Shannon M. Mahurin
Sep, 2026
Journal
In carbon engineering, a longstanding trade-off persists: chemical activation increases surface area but sacrifices conductivity, whereas graphitization enhances conductivity at the expense of porosity. In 2017, we introduced an electrochemical graphitization strategy using cathodic polarization in CaCl2-NaCl molten salts to convert hard carbon into graphite. Here, we reve…
Sep, 2026
Journal
Basic solutions are essential for gas-involved catalytic transformations, yet their ultralow free volume limits gas solubility and diffusivity. Engineering permanent porosity in such reactive liquids has remained a longstanding challenge. Here, we introduce a surface-sacrifice strategy that incorporates Brønsted-acidic zeolite nanocrystals into strong organic bases to crea…
Aug, 2026
ORNL Report
Jul, 2026
Journal
Molten metal chloride salts are promising candidates for advanced heat transfer fluids in generation IV nuclear reactors and beyond. The activity of the chloride ion in the salt has a large influence on the redox characteristics of the corresponding molten salt. There exists a knowledge gap for the direct measurement of chlorobasicity (Lewis basicity) in molten-salt mixtur…
Jul, 2026
Journal
Directly converting methane (CH4) into liquid oxygenates (e.g., methanol) can circumvent the cost and engineering limits of natural gas transportation and storage. However, oxygenate yields from CH4 remain low, and sulfur present in natural gas hinders activity in most catalysts. To overcome these barriers, we employ bulk molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), a low-cost, robust cat…
Jun, 2026
Journal
Porous liquids (PLs) represent a unique platform for molecular separations by combining permanent porosity with liquid-phase mobility. However, it remains a formidable challenge to construct and stabilize PLs with sub-5 Ã… pores using readily available porous host and liquid media. Here, we report the construction of cyclodextrin (CD)-derived PLs enabled by in situ solvatio…
Mar, 2026
Journal
Ionic liquids (ILs) have emerged as highly tunable sorbents and membranes for gas separation, especially in the purification of CO2-containing gas streams such as air, natural gas, biogas, and syngas. Their negligible volatility, high thermal stability, and chemical versatility position them as promising alternatives to conventional amine and alkaline metal derivative-base…
Sep, 2025
Journal
Water transport through nanoporous materials is important in water treatment, desalination, and nanofiltration. Two-dimensional (2D) membranes such as porous graphene have been explored for high-permeance water transport. However, water transport through a new class of 2D membranes based on two-dimensional covalently linked fullerene monolayers has not been fully explored.…
Sep, 2025
ORNL Report
Recycling of salts offers a way to reduce waste volume in pyrochemical processing. One approach to purify used salts for recycling and reuse is zone refining, a technique that involves the controlled translation of a heated zone along a length of the salt resulting in the movement of contaminants to the ends of the sample leaving a purified salt that can be easily recovere…