CPE Faculty and Staff

Aaron M. Scurto

Aaron M. Scurto

Assistant Professor

Dept. of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering and the Center for Environmentally Beneficial Catalysis

Office: 4141C Learned Hall
Phone: (785) 864-4947
Fax: (785) 865-4967
E-mail: ascurto@ku.edu

Link to Personal Page & Research Group:

Education:

B.ChE. University of Delaware, 1997 (Thesis & Bioengineering concentration)
Ph.D., University of Notre Dame, 2002 (with Prof. Joan F. Brennecke)
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, RWTH-Aachen, Germany, 2003 (with Prof. Dr. Walter Leitner)
Postdoctoral Associate, MIT, 2004 (with Prof. Alexander Klibanov)

Research Interests:

Chemo-Enzymatic Catalysis - Asymmetric/Enantioselective Catalysis:

Organometallic Catalysis
Biocatalysis

Nano-scale Materials Production and Processing in Supercritical Fluids

Nanocomposites for Gas Separations
Semi-conductor Metal removal from nano-scale lithographies

Green/Sustainable Chemistry and Engineering

Alternative Solvents: Supercritical Fluids & Ionic Liquids

High-Pressure Phase Behavior & Modeling

Professor Scurto's research focuses on the relationship between the solvent and catalysts or metal complexes. Emphasis is on homogeneous catalysts (soluble metal complexes or bio-catalysis/enzyme catalysts) in a variety of reactions, but primarily enantio-selective (chiral) reactions. The fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries of tomorrow will be increasingly applying both organometallic and biocatalysis for the complete synthesis of desired compounds. Understanding the limits of the individual methods and possible coordination schemes is of potential interest. Spectroscopic techniques are used to probe the molecular level interactions to interpret macro-scale results such as reaction rates, and chemo-, region- and enantio-selectivity. Understanding how the solvent affects the catalyst and reactants both in terms of catalysis and phase equilibrium thermodynamics is of utmost importance in homogeneous catalysis. Often, catalyst performance is sacrificed for ease of separation and ability to recycle the metal complex. Novel schemes are being develop for reaction/separation processes. Among the different solvents of interest are supercritical fluids such as CO₂, and a new class of solvents called ionic liquids (organic salts liquid near ambient conditions). These fluids are being considered as possible organic solvent replacements due to their environmentally benign or completely nonvolatile nature. The tenets of green/sustainable chemistry and engineering are pursued to provide real alternatives to current polluting process for both existing products and technologies and to use their unique properties to develop new ones. This includes novel materials processing ideas, such as the use of compressed CO₂ to remove metals from nano-scale semiconductor geometries and to create nano-composite membranes with metal complexes for enhance gas separation, e.g. hydrogen recovery. Reliable modeling of phase behavior is extremely important for the development of compressed CO₂ processes.

Publications

Scurto, A.M. Leitner, W.L. et al. Catalysis in Supercritical Fluids. In Organometallic Catalysis; Cornils, B.; Herrmann, W.A., Eds.; Wiley-VCH Publishing, Weinheim, In Press 2004.

Scurto, A.M.; Leitner, Melting Point Depression of Organic Ionic Solids/Liquids with Carbon Dioxide for Enhanced Catalytic Processes. Submitted to Chem. Comm. 2003.

Scurto, A.M.; Brennecke, J.F. High Pressure Phase Equilibrium of bDiketone Chelating Agents and Chelates in Carbon Dioxide for the in situ Extraction of Metals. In Preparation for Submission to AIChE J. 2004.

Leitner, W.; Scurto, A.M. Immobilized Organometallic Catalysis in Supercritical Fluids. In Aqueous-Phase Organometallic Catalysis: Concepts and Applications 2^nd Edition; Cornils, B.; Herrmann, W.A., Eds.; Wiley-VCH Publishing, Weinheim, In Press 2004.

Dietz, M.L.; McAlister, D.R.; Stepinski, D.; Zalupski, P.R.; Dzielawa, J.A.; Barrans, R.E.; Hess, J.N.; Rubas, A.V.; Chiarizia, R.; Lubbers, C.; Scurto, A.M.; Brennecke, J.F.; Herlinger, A.W. Recent Progress in the Development of Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Soluble Metal Ion Extractants: Solubility Enhancement through Silicon Functionalization. In Nuclear Waste Management: Accomplishments of the Environmental Management Science Program. Ed. T. Zachry; ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, In Press 2004.

Scurto, A. M.; Xu, G.; Brennecke, J. F; Stadtherr, M. A. Phase Behavior and Reliable Computation of Solid-Fluid Equilibrium with Cosolvents: Liquid Phase Detection. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2003, 42, 6464-6475.

Scurto, A. M.; Aki, S. N. V. K; Brennecke, J. F. Carbon Dioxide Induced Separation of Ionic Liquids and Water. Chem. Comm. 2003, 572-573.

Scurto, A. M.; Aki, S. N. V. K; Brennecke, J. F. CO₂ as a Separation Switch for Ionic Liquid/Organic Mixtures. J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 2002, 124, 10276-10277.

Research for articles 8&9 featured in Chem. & Eng. News 2002 (Sept. 9), 80, 44.

Lubbers, C.; Scurto, A. M.; Brennecke, J. F. Experimental Measurement and Modeling of the Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium of Carbon Dioxide + bDiketone Chelating Agents. In Supercritical Carbon Dioxide: Separations and Processes; Gopalan, A.S; Wai, C.M.; Jacobs, H., Eds.; ACS Symposium Series 860; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2003.

Scurto, A. M.; Lubbers, C.; Xu, G.; Brennecke, J. F. Experimental Measurement and Modeling of Vapor-Liquid Equilibria of Carbon Dioxide + Chloroform. Fluid Phase Equil. 2001, 190, 135-147.

Alvarado, G.; Sandler, S. I.; Scurto, A. M. Modeling Solid-Fluid Equilibria with a Cubic Equation of State-G^ex Model. J. Supercrit. Fluids 2001, 21, 123-134.

Roggemann, E.; Scurto, A. M.; Brennecke, J.F. Spectroscopy, Solubility and Modeling of Cosolvent Effects on Metal Chelate Complexes in Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Solutions. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2001, 40, 980-989.

Xu, G.; Scurto, A. M.; Castier, M.; Brennecke, J. F.; Stadtherr, M. A. Reliable Computation of High Pressure Solid-Fluid Equilibrium. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2000, 39, 1624-1636.