Bernard Panzare

Current Research:

The focus of my research is in the area of zeolite synthesis. Specifically, I am investigating the enhancement observed in the rate of crystallization of zeolites synthesized under microwave heating versus conventional heating. The goal of this work is to develop a more complete understanding of the nucleation and crystal growth process of zeolite materials.

Currently I am studying beta zeolite and NaY zeolite. Beta zeolite is a particularly challenging material to synthesize using conventional heating. However it is an important commercial catalyst. Thus there is a lot of interest from industry in this work, so that they can optimize their syntheses processes.

My work has explored the use of different reactor configurations and geometries, as well as power delivery and the uniformity of the microwave field. Additionally, I have studied how the addition of halides may enhance synthesis of beta zeolite.