Dr. Gustavo Larsen Dr. Larsen's Web Page email: Dr. Larsen Associate Chair, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering NCMN Homepage

 

Current Research

    Dr. Larsen’s group works on a variety of projects related to catalysis, adsorption, and materials design. We currently have six major areas of research in our laboratory:

  • Partial oxidation reactions over hybrid (organic/inorganic) Ti-containing gels;
  • Synthesis of inorganic oxide materials with tailored porosities and well-defined
    (catalytically active)metal particle sizes using macromolecular templates;
  • Design of zeolite- and amorphous silica/cellulose composites for separation applications;
  • Molecularly imprinted inorganic, and hybrid (organic/inorganic) oxides;
  • Design of macroporous supports for immobilized enzymes utilized in reactions
    involving bulky biomolecules; · Design of catalytic nanofibers based on electrospinning of sol-gels.

Recent Publications

I. G. Loscertales, A. Barrero, M. Marquez, R. Spretz, R. Velarde-Ortiz and G. Larsen, “Electrically Forced Coaxial Nanojets for One-Step Hollow Nanofiber Design”, J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 126, 5376 (2004).

R. Spretz, R. Velarde-Ortiz and G. Larsen, “Use of Coaxial Gas Jackets to Stabilize Taylor Cones of Volatile Solutions and to Induce Particle-to-Fiber Transitions”, Adv. Mater. 16, 166 (2004).

G. Larsen, R. V.-Ortiz, K. Minchow, A. Barrero and I. G. Loscertales, “A Method for Making Inorganic and Hybrid (Organic/Inorganic) Fibers and Vesicles in the Micrometer and Sub-Micrometer Range via Sol-Gel Chemistry and Electrically Forced Liquid Jets”, J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 125, 1154 (2003).

D. Vu, M. Marquez and G. Larsen, “A Facile Method to Deposit Zeolites Y and L onto Cellulose Fibers”, Microp. & Mesop. Mater. 55, 93 (2002).

G. Larsen, and R. Velarde-Ortiz, “A poly(propylene)imine (DAB-Am-64) Dendrimer as Cu2+ Chelator for the Synthesis of Copper Oxide Clusters Embedded in Sol-gel Derived Matrices”, Chem. Mater. 14, 858 (2002).

G. Larsen, D. Vu, R. Venturini de Silva and H. S. Silva, “A Study of Cyclohexane Diffusion in Hybrid (Organic/Inorganic) Gels Monitored by an Oscillating Balance Reactor”, J. Coll. Int. Sci. 245, 402 (2002).

Recent Graduates

· Lucia M. Petkovic, Ph. D. Chemical Engineering, UNL (2001), Currently a Staff Scientist at the INEEL DOE Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho.
· Edgar Lotero, Ph.D. Chemistry, UNL (2002), Currently a Postdoctoral Associate at Clemson University, Department of Chemical Engineering.