April Fogel selected as the Kaiser-Borsari Scholarship recipient

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November, 2011

The College of Sciences and Technology is pleased to announce that April Fogel is the recipient of the 2011 Kaiser-Borsari Scholarship for Women in Materials Science, a $5000 scholarship for female undergraduates performing research in materials science and engineering. April Fogel is a senior at Western Washington University. She is a platics engineering technology major and plans on graduating in June 2012.

Research Summary:

I am working with Dr. David Rider to develop an alternative coating strategy for anchoring catalytic polyethyleneimine –capped (PEI) platinum nanoparticles (Pt NPs) for hydrogen fuel cell technology. Currently, coupled poly(p-styrene-sulfonate) (PSS) and polyethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT) comprise a material being studied for electrostatic binding to PEI-capped Pt NPs. Through the course of this year I aim to replace PSS with an inorganic polymer called Polyphosphazene (PPN) in order to improve gas permeability of the catalytic layer.

I will be synthesizing coupled PEDOT:PPN through a series of polymerization trials of ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) triggered by various oxidants (Na2S2O8, mixture of FeCl3 and Na2S2O8, Fe(OTs)3 and CuCl3). Characterization methodology of PEDOT:PPN material will include conductivity four point probe, UV vis spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering. The conductive polymeric coupled material will be deposited along with Pt NPs onto a glass substrate using a layer-by-layer deposition technique. These bilayer samples will be characterized for their conductive catalytic activity and gas absorption properties.