Clayton Wheeler is an assistant professor of Chemical and Biological
Engineering at the University of Maine. He received his BS, MS and PhD
degrees from The University of Texas at Austin. He gained industrial
process experience with Texaco, Inc. and sensor design experience as a
National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute
of Standards and Technology. His research interests include using reaction mechanisms to improve sensor design and calorimetric sensing
for rapid catalyst discovery. He has integrated creative teaching
methods into courses such as core process engineering courses at the
University of Maine and a unique, simulation-based, capstone course for
pulp and paper technology programs.
My Research
We are using microfabricated devices to study gas reaction kinetics and dynamics on sensor and catalyst materials, while developing combinatorial tools and techniques for rapid catalyst screening. The research involves clean room fabrication processes, characterizing solid-state materials deposited using ink jet printing, and studying catalytic reactions with techniques such as Raman or FTIR spectroscopies or temperature programmed reaction using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry.
In Other Words
We are working on processes to convert wood waste to chemicals such as home heating oil. We are using inkjets similar to those in home printers to make new catalyst materials that help reactions to produce the right chemicals at lower temperatures. The inkjets make lots of material combinations on arrays of miniature reactors (computer chips) that we fabricate on silicon wafers. We identify the most promising reaction properties by measuring the amount of heat produced on each reactor and we use microscopes to identify the reaction products.
 | Isothermal desorption kinetics of benzoic acid on a single SnO2 microhotplate sensor |
More publications available in the FBRI Research Library |
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Contact Information
5737 Jenness Hall, Room 307
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469
tel: (207) 581-2280
E-mail: cwheeler@umche.maine.edu
