Nicholas A Brunelli Catalytic Material Design Group

Sustainable Catalytic Material Design Group

Synthesis, characterization, and testing of heterogeneous catalytic materials

Sustainable Catalytic Material Design Group

Our research focuses on achieving atomic level control of the catalytic active sites in heterogeneous materials using advanced synthetic methods to create novel designs and materials and understand how these novel materials assemble. These materials are interrogated through spectroscopic techniques that enable improved design.  

Faculty Bio

Related News

Research

Currently investigating structure-function relationships to elucidate mechanistic insights into catalytic reactions. This is challenging since most heterogeneous catalysts contain a non-uniform distribution of catalytic sites. We use homogeneous synthesis techniques to create materials with more uniform catalytic sites. Through tuning these materials on the atomic level, we are able to produce more uniform catalytic sites. The uniformity of the catalytic sites enables more active and selective catalysts to be designed and realized. The work has the potential to transform the production of valuable chemicals derived from petroleum and biomass sources.

Research

Group Members

Group Members

Student and Alumni awards and honors

Publications

2023

46

M. Brizes, J.-Y. Chen, H. Pineault, N.A. Brunelli,* “Evaluating the per site activity of common mesoporous materials as supports for aminosilica catalysts for the aldol reaction and condensation.” Applied Catalysis A: General., 2023,  650, 118997. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcata.2022.118997)

 

2022

45

J.-Y. Chen, H. Pineault N.A. Brunelli,* “Quantifying the fraction and activity of different types of catalytic sites at different surface densities of aminosilanes in SBA-15 for the aldol reaction and condensation,” J. Catalysis, 2022, 413, 1048-1055. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcat.2022.08.015)

44

N. Deshpande, J.-Y. Chen, E.H. Cho, T. Kobayashi, L.-C. Lin, H. Pineault, N.A. Brunelli,* “Tuning micropore volume of SBA-15 to enhance catalytic activity,” J. Catalysis (accepted).

43

M. Kasula, A.P. Spanos, N.A. Brunelli,* “Investigating the impact of synthesis conditions to increase yield and tin inclusion for Lewis acid nano-Sn-MFI zeolites,” Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 61, 5, 1977-1984. (https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.iecr.1c03979)

 

2021 

42

J.-Y. Chen, N.A. Brunelli,* “Investigating the impact of microporosity of aminosilica catalysts in coupling reactions for biomass upgrading to fuel,” Energy & Fuels, 2021, 35, 18, 14885-14893.

41

P. Ranadive, Z. Blanchette, A. Spanos, W. Medlin, N.A. Brunelli,* “Scalable synthesis of selective hydrodeoxygenation core@shell Pd@TiO2 nanocatalysts,” J. Flow Chemistry, 2021, 11, 393-406.

40

A. Spanos, A. Parulkar, N.A. Brunelli,* “Enhancing hydrophobicity and catalytic activity of nano-Sn-Beta for alcohol ring opening of epoxides through post-synthetic treatment with fluoride,” J. Catalysis, 2021, 404, 430-439.

 

2020 

39

M. Gray, M. Hines, M. Parsutkar, A.J. Wahlstrom, N.A. Brunelli,* T.V. RajanBabu,* “On the Mechanism of Cobalt-Catalyzed Heterodimerization of Acrylates and 1,3-Dienes. Reaction Progress Kinetic Analysis and A Potential Role of Cationic Cobalt(I) Intermediates” ACS Catalysis, 2020, 10 (7), 4337-4348.

38

M.R. Whitaker, A. Parulkar, N.A. Brunelli,* “Selective production of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose in the presence of an acid-functionalized SBA-15 catalyst modified with a sulfoxide polymer,” Molecular Systems Design and Engineering, 2020, 5, 257-268.

 

2019

37

A. Kane, N. Deshpande, N.A. Brunelli,* “Impact of surface loading on catalytic activity of regular and low Micropore SBA-15 in the Knoevenagel Condensation,” AIChE Journal, 2019, 65 (12), e16791.

36

A. Parulkar, A.P. Spanos, N. Deshpande, N.A. Brunelli,* “Synthesis and catalytic testing of Lewisacidic nano zeolite Beta for epoxide ring opening with alcohols,” Applied Catalysis A: General, 2019, 577, 28-34.

35

N. Deshpande, E.H. Cho, A.P. Spanos, L.-C. Lin, N.A. Brunelli,* “Tuning Molecular Structure of Tertiary Amine Catalysts for Glucose Isomerization,” J. Catalysis, 2019, 372, 119-127.

34

P. Ranadive, A. Parulkar, N.A. Brunelli,* “Jet-Mixing Reactor for the Production of MonodisperseSilver Nanoparticles Using a Reduced Amount of Capping Agent,” Reaction Chemistry and Engineering, 2019, 4 (10), 1779-1789.

33

M.R. Whitaker, A. Parulkar, P. Ranadive, R. Joshi, N.A. Brunelli,* “Examining Acid FormationDuring the Selective Dehydration of Fructose to 5-Hydroxymethylfurfural in DMSO and Water,”ChemSusChem, 2019, 12 (10), 2211-2219.

32

N. Olson, N. Deshpande, S. Gunduz, U.S. Ozkan, N.A. Brunelli,* “Utilizing Imogolite Nanotubes asa Tunable Catalytic Material for the Selective Isomerization of Glucose to Fructose,” CatalysisToday, 2019, 323, 69-75.

31

N. Deshpande, A. Parulkar, R. Joshi, B. Diep, A. Kulkarni, N.A. Brunelli,* “Epoxide ring openingwith alcohols using heterogeneous Lewis acid catalysts: Mechanism and Regioselectivity,” J. Catalysis, 2019, 370, 46-54.

 

2018

30

A. Parulkar, R. Joshi, N. Deshpande, N.A. Brunelli,* “Synthesis and Catalytic Testing of LewisAcidic Nano-MFI Zeolites for the Epoxide Ring Opening Reaction with Alcohol,” Applied CatalysisA: General, 2018, 566, 25-32.

29

A. Parulkar, J.A. Thompson, M. Hurt, B.-Z. Zhan, N.A. Brunelli,* “Improving HydrodenitrogenationCatalyst Performance through Analyzing Hydrotreated Vacuum Gas Oil Using Ion Mobility-MassSpectrometry,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research 2018, 57 (27), 8845-8854.

 

2017

28

A. Parulkar, N.A. Brunelli,* “High-Yield Synthesis of ZIF-8 Nanoparticles Using StoichiometricReactants in a Jet-Mixing Reactor,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 2017, 56 (37),10384-10392.

27

N. Deshpande, L. Pattanaik, M.R. Whitaker, C.-T. Yang, L.-C. Lin, N.A. Brunelli,* “SelectivelyConverting Glucose to Fructose Using Immobilized Tertiary Amines.” J. Catalysis, 2017, 353, 205-210.

 

2015

26

E.G. Moschetta, S. Negretti, K.M. Chepiga, N.A. Brunelli, Y. Labreche, Y. Feng, F. Rezaei, R.P.Lively, W.J. Koros, H.M.L. Davies,* and C.W. Jones.* "Composite Polymer/Oxide Hollow FiberContactors: Versatile and Scalable Flow Reactors for Heterogeneous Catalytic Reactions in OrganicSynthesis." Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2015, 54 (22), 6470-6474.

25

L. Espinal, M.L. Green, D.A. Fischer, D.M. DeLongchamp, C. Jaye, J.C. Horn, M.A. Sakwa-Novak,W. Chaikittisilp, N.A. Brunelli, C.W. Jones. “Interrogating the Carbon and Oxygen K-edgeNEXAFS of a CO2-dosed Hyperbranched Aminosilica.” Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 2015,6 (1), 148-152.

24

E.G. Moschetta, N.A. Brunelli, C.W. Jones. “Reaction-dependent heteroatom modification of acid-base catalytic cooperativity in aminosilica materials.” Applied Catalysis A: General 2015, 504 (5),429-439.

 

2014 

23

A.J. Brown, N.A. Brunelli, K. Eum, F. Rashidi, J.R. Johnson, W.J. Koros, C.W. Jones, S. Nair.“Interfacial Microfluidic Processing of Metal-Organic Framework Hollow Fiber Membranes.”Science. 2014, 345 (6192), 72-75.

22

D.-Y. Kang, N.A. Brunelli, G.I. Yucelen, A. Venkatasubramanian, J. Zang, J. Leisen, P.J. Hesketh,C.W. Jones, S. Nair. “Direct Synthesis of Single-Walled Aluminosilicate Nanotubes with EnhancedMolecular Adsorption Selectivity.” Nature Communication 2014, 5, 1-9.

21

B.R. Pimental, A. Parulkar, E. Zhou, N.A. Brunelli,* R.P. Lively.* “Zeolite ImidazolateFrameworks: Next-Generation Materials for Energy-Efficient Gas Separations.” ChemSusChem2014, 7 (12), 3202- 3240.

20

S.A. Didas, R. Zhu, N.A. Brunelli, D.S. Sholl, C.W. Jones. “Thermal, Oxidative, and CO2 InducedDegradation of Primary Amines used for CO2 Capture: Effect of Alkyl Linker on Stability,” Journalof Physical Chemistry C. 2014, 118 (23), 12302-12311.

19

J.A. Thompson, J.T. Vaughn, N.A. Brunelli, W.J. Koros, C.W. Jones, S. Nair. "Mixed-linker zeoliticimidazolate framework mixed-matrix membranes for aggressive CO2 separation from natural gas,"Microporous and Mesoporous Materials. 2014, 192, 43-51.

18

H.J. Kim, N.A. Brunelli, A.J. Brown, K.S. Jang, W. Kim, F. Rashidi, J.R. Johnson, W.J. Koros, C.W.Jones, S. Nair. “Silylated Mesoporous Silica Membranes on Polymeric Hollow Fiber Supports:Synthesis and Permeation Properties,” ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces 2014, 6 (20), 17877-17886.

 

2013 

17

N.A. Brunelli, C.W. Jones, (2013), “Tuning Acid-Base Cooperativity to Create Next GenerationSilica- Supported Organocatalysts.” J. Catalysis 308, 60-72.

16

N.A. Brunelli,* E.L. Neiholdt, K.P. Giapis, R.C. Flagan, J.L. Beauchamp, (2013) “Continuous FlowIon Mobility Separation with Mass Spectrometric Detection Using a Nano-Radial DifferentialMobility Analyzer at Low Flow Rates.” Analytical Chemistry (DOI: 10.1021/ac3032417).

15

W. Long, N.A. Brunelli, E.W. Ping, C.W. Jones. “A Single-Component Hybrid Pd Catalyst for theHighly-Selective Reduction of Alkynes to cis-Alkenes,” ACS Catalysis 2013, 3 (8), 1700-1708.

14

K.M. Chepiga, Y. Fan, N.A. Brunelli, C.W. Jones, H.M.L. Davies. “Silica-Immobilized ChiralDirhodium (II) Catalyst for Enantioselective Carbenoid Reactions,” Organic Letters 2013, 15 (24),6136-6139.

13

D.M. Holunga, N.A. Brunelli, R.C. Flagan. “A Tool for Uniform Coating of 300 mm Wafers with Nanoparticles,” Journal of Nanoparticle Research 2013, 15 (11), 1-10.

12

A. Varga, M. Pfohl, N.A. Brunelli, M. Schreier, K. Giapis, S. Haile. "Carbon nanotubes as electronicinterconnects in solid acid fuel cell electrodes," Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 2013, 15 (37), 15470-15476.

11

J.A. Thompson, N.A. Brunelli, R.P. Lively, J.R. Johnson, C.W. Jones, S. Nair. “Tunable CO2Adsorbents by Mixed-Linker Synthesis and Postsynthetic Modification of Zeolitic ImidazolateFrameworks.” Journal of Physical Chemistry C. 2013, 117 (16), 8198-8207.

 

2012

10

N.A. Brunelli, K. Venkatasubbaiah, C.W. Jones. “Cooperative Catalysis with Acid-Base BifunctionalMesoporous Silica: Impact of Grafting and Co-condensation Synthesis Methods on MaterialStructure and Catalytic Properties.” Chemistry of Materials 2012, 24 (13), 2433-2442.

9

N.A. Brunelli, K. Venkatasubbaiah, C.W. Jones. “Effect of Linker Length on the CooperativeInteractions of Supported Amines in Catalysis and CO2 Capture,” Journal of the American ChemicalSociety 2012, 134 (34), 13950-13953.

8

N.A. Brunelli, W. Long, K. Venkatasubbaiah, C.W. Jones. “Catalytic Regioselective Epoxide Ring Opening with Phenol using Homogeneous and Supported Analogues of Dimethylaminopyridine.”Topics in Catalysis 2012, 55 (7-10), 432-438.

7

Y. Kuwahara, D.-Y. Kang, J. Copeland, N.A. Brunelli, S.A. Didas, P. Bollini, C. Sievers, T.Kamegawa, H. Yamashita, C.W. Jones. “Dramatic Enhancement of CO2 Uptake by Poly(ethyleneimine) Using Zirconosilica Supports,” Journal of the American Chemical Society 2012,134 (26), 10757-10760.

6

J.A. Thompson, C.R. Blad, N.A. Brunelli, M.E. Lydon, R.P. Lively, C.W. Jones, S. Nair. “HybridZeolitic Imidazolate Frameworks: Controlling Framework Porosity and Functionality by Mixed-Linker Synthesis,” Chemistry of Materials 2012, 24 (10), 1930-1936.

5

P. Bollini, N.A. Brunelli, S.A. Didas, C.W. Jones. “Dynamics of CO2 Adsorption onto AmineAdsorbents. 1. Assessment of Heat Effects,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research 2012,51 (46), 15145- 15152.

4

P. Bollini, N.A. Brunelli, S.A. Didas, C.W. Jones. “Dynamics of CO2 Adsorption onto AmineAdsorbents. 2. Insights into Adsorbent Design,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research2012, 51 (46), 15153-15162.

 

2011

3

J. Jiang, M. Attoui, M. Heim, N.A. Brunelli, P. McMurry, G. Kasper, R.C. Flagan, K. Giapis, G.Mouret. “Transfer Functions and Penetrations of Five Differential Mobility Analyzers for Sub-2 nmParticle Classification.” Aerosol Science and Technology 2011, 45 (4), 480-492.

 

2010

2

A. Varga, N.A. Brunelli, M.W. Louie, K.P. Giapis, S.M. Haile. “Composite nanostructured solid-acidfuel- cell electrodes via electrospray deposition.” Journal of Materials Chemistry 2010, 20 (30),6309-6315.

 

2009 

1

N.A. Brunelli, R.C. Flagan, K.P. Giapis. “Radial Differential Mobility Analyzer for One Nanometer Particle Classification.” Aerosol Science and Technology 2009, 43 (1), 53-59.

 

Our Lab in Ohio State News
Six faculty honored with College of Engineering awards
Hannah Pineault one of four to win Honda funding
Jee-Yee Chen wins second national travel award
Doctoral students Chen and Pineault receive travel awards
Research of graduate students receives national support
Students recognized at Lowrie Awards Banquet
Generosity empowers graduate students to build bright futures
Students selected for Kokes national travel awards

Lab News and Announcements

Interested in working with our group?

Outreach and Activities

Outreach

Group Members Visit Purdue