(6jh) Energy Storage Devices and Advanced Electrochemical Separation Processes

Research Interests

Renewable energy and access to clean water are among the grand challenges of our century. As a future faculty member, I plan to develop a research program that will focus on pushing the boundaries on these challenges through the strategic design of: (1) next generation electrode materials and safe electrolytes towards their utilization in batteries and supercapacitors, (2) nanoscale structural networks towards their integration for advanced separation processes for water treatment (e.g., metal removal, desalination).

Research Proposals Submitted

L'Oréal USA for Women in Science Fellowship, 2015, “Durable and Highly Absorbent Dressings for Chronic Wounds”

NASA Postdoctoral Research Program, Glenn Research Center, Electrochemical Energy Storage Program, 2014, “Ionic Liquid based non-flammable electrolytes for energy devices”

Post-doctoral Research Experiences

University of Akron (Supervisor: Bryan D. Vogt)

Projects: (i) Design of high capacity anode material for Na⁺ - battery and its integration with high-temperature electrolyte, (ii) Improving mechanical integrity of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethanes

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Supervisor: T. Alan Hatton)

Projects: (i) Electrochemically mediated CO₂ separation, (ii) Non-volatile liquid sorbents with enhanced gravimetric CO₂ capacity  

PhD Thesis

University of Notre Dame (Supervisor: Joan F. Brennecke)

Dissertation: Kinetics of CO₂ absorption by chemically reactive ionic liquids

Side project: Vapor-liquid phase behavior of hydrazine and its derivatives by Monte Carlo simulations (Supervisor: Edward Maginn)

Teaching Experience

Supervised 4 undergraduate researchers, 1 first year graduate student and 2 high school students. Assisted in courses of Thermodynamics, Reaction Engineering, Physical Chemistry, Materials Science and Unit Operation Laboratory: held office hours, prepared homework solutions, helped in grading.

Selected Publications

1. 1.  Gurkan, B., Simeon, F., Hatton, T. A., “Quinone Reduction in Ionic Liquids for Electrochemical CO₂ separation”, ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering 7 (2015) 1394-1405
2. 2.  Gurkan, B. E., Gohndrone, T. R., McCready, M. J., Brennecke, J. F., “Reaction kinetics of CO₂ absorption into phosphonium based anion-functionalized ionic liquids”, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 15 (2013) 7796-7811
3. 3.  Gurkan, B., Goodrich, B. F., Mindrup, E., Ficke, L., Massel, M., Seo, S., Senftle, T., Wu, H., Shah, J. K., Maginn, E. J., Brennecke J. F., Schneider, W.F., “Molecular Design of High Capacity, Low Viscosity, Chemically Tunable Ionic Liquids for CO₂ Capture”, Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 24 (2010) 3494-3499. Editor's choice in Science Magazine - December 17, 2010 (DOI: 10.1126/science.330.6011.1588-b) 110+ citations
4. 4.  Gurkan, B., de la Fuente, J. C., Mindrup, E., Ficke, L., Goodrich, B. F., Price, E., Schneider, W. F., Brennecke, J. F., “Equimolar CO₂ Absorption by Anion-functionalized Ionic Liquids”, Journal of American Chemical Society Communications 132 (2010) 2116-+. 280+ citations
5. 5.  Eksioglu, B., Nadarajah, A.,”Structural Analysis of Carbon Nanofibers", Carbon 44 (2006) 360-373.

Awards/Honors

Bayer Pre-doctoral Research Fellowship, Notre Dame Indiana 2010-11

RECS (Research Experience on Carbon Sequestration) Fellow, Birmingham Alabama 2011

Travel Grant for Gordon Research Conference on Green Chemistry, Davidson North Carolina 2010

Honorable Mention, The Link Energy Foundation Energy Fellowship, 2009

Poster Presentation Award, Cairns Australia 2009

ACS Sustainability and Green Chemistry Summer School Fellow, Golden Colorado 2008

Best Master Thesis, Toledo Ohio 2006

Outstanding Poster Presentation Award, Toledo Ohio 2006

Professional Memberships

American Chemical Society

American Institute of Chemical Engineers

Association for Women in Science