Text Box: Exploring Chemistry

 

 
Text Box: Profiles
Text Box: Nuclear Analysis September 22, 2005 The first Seminar of the 2005-2006 school-year was presented by Matthew Heggan to acquaint any interested students with the diverse field of Nuclear Analysis. This field requires extensive knowledge of both chemistry and physics (especially involving energy) and thus was presented to both the Chemistry and Physics clubs. This was done through the presentation of a specific project called RESOLVED, researched in Berlin, Germany at Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung GmbH. Project RESOLVED involved the recycling of photovoltaic cells containing cadmium telluride (CdTe). The compound is very harmful to the environment and must be first separated by various means and then disposed of properly (e.g. Kyoto Protocol). The quality of separation encompasses the goal of the Nuclear Analytic department. Two methods are used to provide the verification needed for accurate separation of the cadmium and tellurium. The first is called X-Ray Fluorescence and involves low energy excitation of the analyte in order to produce a spectrum which is used to determine the percent separation. This first method can be performed very quickly and without much effort. The results of this method lead to the second method, called Photon Activation Analysis, which involves the use of a linear electron accelerator for extremely high level energy excitation of the analyte. Consequently, more accurate results can be obtained from this continuous spectrum and so provide a true indication of the separation process. The project is currently still in progress and has so far achieved a 73 % recovery of CdTe.             Chemical Engineering December 8, 2005 Chemical engineer Dr. Paul Adam from Dow Corning Corporation gave an intriguing seminar about ways that Dow Corning has “greenified” some of the company’s processes.  He described the company’s efforts to use processes that recycle waste materials and byproducts by diverting them into the production of different materials.  He also discussed how a process is scaled up from lab-scale to mass production and the machining involved with such large-scale operation.     SiGe Precursor Synthesis January 25, 2006 Club member and student affiliate Michael Bradford presented a seminar regarding his research into a better silicon-germanium precursor, attempting to synthesize a molecule that has both silicon and germanium, and in the appropriate ratios, to be deposited as a SiGe film via single source chemical vapor deposition (SS-CVD).  As SiGe is of great importance in the manufacture of solar cells, transistors, and microchips, the simpler route of synthesis being pursued could have far reaching benefits in many areas of technology.    

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