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Postdoctoral Researcher

Delft University of Technology

PHD Student

Advanced Soft Matter | TU Delft

ORAU Intern

Savannah River National Laboratory

LSE Intern

Savannah River National Laboratory

Graduate Research Assistant

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Doctor of Philosophy - PhD

Technische Universiteit Delft

Chemical Engineering

• Thesis title -- Anisotropic and Magnetic Microparticles: Preparation and Out-of-Equilibrium Assembly.

Master’s Degree

University of Nevada-Las Vegas

Physics

• Thesis title -- Studies of Inner-shell Chemistry of Mercury Based Compounds under Extreme Conditions.

Bachelor of Science (B.S.)

The University of Georgia

Physics

• Projects: Effect of Organic Hole Scavengers on the Photochromism of Bismuth-tungensten oxide and Growth of Cu nanofilms on polystyrene bead mono layer substrates by means of oblique angle physical vapor deposition.

Engineered Nano-antenna Susceptor as Efficient Platforms For Efficient Uptake and Release of Analytes

Springer, Cham

Part of the The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series book series (MMMS)

Shape-Selective Palladium and Palladium-Composite Nanomaterials

Springer International Publishing

Part of the The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series book series (MMMS)

Self-assembly of colloidal superballs under spherical confinement of a drying droplet

JCIS Open

Understanding the relationship between colloidal building block shape and self-assembled material structure is important for the development of novel materials by self-assembly. In this regard, colloidal superballs are unique building blocks because their shape can smoothly transition between spherical and cubic. Assembly of colloidal superballs under spherical confinement results in macroscopic clusters with ordered internal structure. By utilizing Small Angle X-Ray Scattering (SAXS), we probe the internal structure of colloidal superball dispersion droplets during confinement. We observe and identify four distinct drying regimes that arise during compression via evaporating droplets, and we track the development of the assembled macrostructure. As the superballs assemble, we found that they arrange into the predicted paracrystalline, rhombohedral C1-lattice that varies by the constituent superballs’ shape. This provides insights in the behavior between confinement and particle shape that can be applied in the development of new functional materials.

High pressure behavior of mercury difluoride (HgF2)

Chemical Physics Letters

The pressure-induced cubic → orthorhombic transition occurring in HgF2 was investigated via X-ray diffraction and density functional theory. The predicted, ambient cubic (Fm-3m) fluorite structure of HgF2, can be obtained using a high-pressure ramp purification process of HgF2 mixed with XeF2. Subsequently, the purified HgF2 underwent a phase transition from the fluorite to the orthorhombic cotunnite-type structure near 4.7 GPa, persisting to 63 GPa. An equation of state fit yielded a bulk modulus K0 of 94.4 GPa for the fluorite-type structure and zero-pressure volume V0 of 168.6 Å3, and K0 = 92.9 GPa and V0 = 156.4 Å3 for the cotunnite-type structure.

Fluorine chemistry at extreme conditions: Possible synthesis of HgF4

Papers in Physics

By irradiating a pressurized mixture of a fluorine-bearing compound (XeF2) and HgF2 with synchrotron hard x-rays (>7 keV) inside a diamond anvil cell, we have observed dramatic changes in the far-infrared spectrum within the 30-35 GPa pressure range which suggest that we may have formed HgF4 in the following way: XeF2+hv−→Xe+F2 (photochemically) and HgF2+F2→HgF4 (30 GPa < P < 35 GPa). This lends credence to recent theoretical calculations by Botana et al. that suggest that Hg may behave as a transition metal at high pressure in an environment with an excess of molecular fluorine. The spectral changes were observed to be reversible during pressure cycling above and below the above mentioned pressure range until a certain point when we suspect that molecular fluorine diffused out of the sample at lower pressure. Upon pressure release, HgF2 and trace XeF2 were observed to be remaining in the sample chamber suggesting that much of the Xe and F2 diffused and leaked out from the sample chamber.

Synthesis of a novel strontium-based wide-bandgap semiconductor via X-ray photochemistry under extreme conditions

Journal of Materials Chemistry C

The synthesis and characterization of a novel, low cost, amorphous wide-bandgap semiconductor via X-ray induced decomposition of strontium oxalate at high pressure have been demonstrated. By means of IR spectroscopy, the final product is identified as a mixture of strontium carbonate, strontium oxalate and CO-derived materials. Band gap measurements demonstrate that the final product exhibits a much lower band gap (2.45 eV) than the initial strontium oxalate powder (4.07 eV), suggesting that the synthesized material can be highly useful in electronic and optical applications.

High-pressure-assisted X-ray-induced damage as a new route for chemical and structural synthesis

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics

X-ray induced damage has been known for decades and has largely been viewed as a tremendous nuisance. We, on the other hand, harness the highly ionizing and penetrating properties of hard X-rays to initiate novel decomposition and synthetic chemistry. Here, we show that powdered cesium oxalate monohydrate pressurized to ≤0.5 GPa and irradiated with X-rays of energies near the cesium K-edge undergoes molecular and structural transformations with one of the final products exhibiting a new type of bcc crystal structure that has previously not been observed. Additionally, based on cascades of ultrafast electronic relaxation steps triggered by the absorption of one X-ray photon, we propose a model explaining the X-ray induced damage of multitype bounded matter. As X-rays are ubiquitous, these results show promise in the preparation of novel compounds and novel structures that are inaccessible via conventional methods. They may offer insight into the formation of complex organic compounds in outer space.