Stanley H. Langer Professor Emeritus Address/E-mail Program Affiliations Education Fields of Interest Publications Awards & Honors Summary

Contact Information

3035 Engineering Hall 1415 Engineering Drive Madison, WI 53706-1691

Tel: 608/262-1190, 262-1093 E-mail: langer@engr.wisc.edu

Program Affiliations

• Chemical and Biological Engineering

Education

• B.S. (Chemistry), Louisiana State University
• Ph.D. (Physical Chemistry), Northwestern University

Fields of Interests

• electrochemistry
• fuel cells
• electrogenerative processes
• biomass
• kinetics
• separations
• hydrometallurgy (gold, copper)
• catalysis
• chromatography
• environmental contaminants

Publications

• "Method for Modifying Electrocatalyst Material, Electrochemical Cells and Electrodes Containing this Modified Material, and Synthesis Methods Utilizing the Cells," (with M.J. Foral and J.C. Card), U.S. Patent 4,818,353 (April 4, 1989).
• "Second-Order Kinetics in the Liquid Chromatographic Reactor," (with R. Thede, D. Haberland and Z. Deng), J. of Chromatography, 683, 279-291 (1994).
• "Quantitative Study of Retention Processes in Reverse-Phase Liquid Chromatography Using Reaction Kinetics," (with B.S. Ludolph, C.-Y. Jeng and A.H.T. Chu), J. of Chromatography, 660, 3 (1994).
• "Graphite Pre-Treatment for Deposition of Platinum Catalysts," (with T.D. Tran), Electrochimica Acta, 38, 1551 (1993).
• "Reaction Kinetics and Kinetic Processes in Modern Liquid Chromatographic Reactors," (with C.Y. Jeng), J. Chromatography, 589, 1 (1992).
• "Electrochemical Sulphur Dioxide Oxidation with Platinum-Aluminum Electrocatalysts," (with J. Lee), J. of Applied Electrochemistry, 25, 353 (1995).
• "Mathematical Analysis and Experimental Results of Applying Enhanced Surface Area and Packed Bed Electrodes in Electrogenerative Sulfur Dioxide Oxidation," (with J. Lee), Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, 12(2), 168-175 (1995).

Selected Awards, Honors and Societies

• Honorary Doctorate, University of Oviedo (Spain)
• Guggenheim Fellow (University of Cambridge)

Summary

The world energy and materials situation, with modern developments and theories in chemistry and engineering, provide opportunities for innovation and invention as well as direction for further contributions to basic knowledge. In our research program, a perception of physical processes was combined with concepts from kinetics, catalysis, thermodynamics, and electrochemistry to advance understanding and introduce new approaches. Specific areas of investigation have been:

Supported Catalysts: With the goal of improving design and preparative techniques, we studied a number of supported catalysts and electrocatalysts. These included variants of traditional heterogeneous catalysts and special supported materials. The effects of structure, catalyst composition, support and reaction conditions were all examined.

Electrochemical Processes: Electrogenerative processes, in which reactants were combined with the aid of electrocatalysts to give desired chemical products and byproduct electrical energy, furnished a theme for concentration. Studies of alcohol oxidations, sulfur dioxide oxidation and nitric oxide reduction were included. Such studies combined concepts of kinetics and catalysis with those of electrochemical engineering. Biomass-based ethanol oxidations received special attention. Patents as well as publications resulted. Fuel cell-related electrogenerative cells are small electrochemical reactors. With additional exploration and engineering, they show promise of becoming useful devices for recovering energy and performing chemical reactions [cf. Chemtech, 15, 226 (1985)]. They also can be adapted to the removal of atmospheric pollutants. Electrogenerative research has led to further basic electrochemical investigations.

Chromatographic separations have been studied and used in many kinetic investigations. Beyond mere analysis, gas and liquid chromatographic techniques have been adapted to several physicochemical measurements. Chromatographic-based studies of reaction kinetics and catalysis received particular attention. Outgrowths of these investigations have included applications to extraction, a thermodynamic approach to separation processes, studies of immobilized enzymes and the design of new stationary phases. The concept of the "ideal chromatographic reactor" also emerged [see J. Phys. Chem., 76, 2159 (1972); 87, 3363 (1983)]. Expertise in the general area of chromatography led to collaborative biochemical and ecological studies.

Hydrometallurgy: This program involves the introduction of new nonpolluting processes for the recovery of copper and several other metals (including gold) from ore, alloys and composites. It involved basic studies of leaching, purification and electrowinning. This work resulted in new processes, modifications of old ones and occasional patents, such as U.S. Patent 4,668,289 (May 26, 1987).