Research Interests:

Cristian Contescu is a research staff member of Carbon Materials Technology (CMT) Group, in the Materials Science and Technology Division at ORNL. His research interests include:

• surface chemistry of carbon materials at solid-electrolyte and solid-gas interfaces;
• acid-base and redox properties of surface functional groups on carbons and of their impact on gas adsorption, separation and gas storage properties;
• adsorption and catalytic properties of high surface area carbons, and their use as catalyst supports;
• controlled development of microporosity in carbons by activation;
• gas storage (H2, CH4) in microporous and metal-modified carbon materials.

Selected current research themes include:

• Contribution of hydrogen dissociation on metal catalyst particles and hydrogen spillover to enhanced hydrogen adsorption by palladium-modified activated carbon fibers at near ambient temperature.
• Identification of molecular and dissociative forms of hydrogen adsorbed on metal-modified high surface area carbons, characterization of adsorption equilibrium and dynamics, and identification of catalytically active phases involved in low-temperature hydrogenation of unsaturated carbon sites.
• Development of high surface area carbons as catalyst supports, and understanding the effect of synthesis conditions on the stability and properties of dispersed catalyst particles (precious metals and metal-carbide particles)