Jacob B. Omajali, Joe Wood and Lynne E. Macaskie
Posters: J Nanomed Nanotechnol
Nanometallic catalysts have multiple industrial applications. Recent focus has been on their clean manufacture and biofabrication. Biofabricated nano-scale palladium (bio-Pd) is active in the reductive dehalogenation (hydrogenolysis) of chlorinated aromatic compounds. Bio-Pd catalyst is made via biosorption of Pd (II) and its subsequent reduction to Pd (0) to give bio-scaffolded Pd-nanoparticles on bacterial cell surfaces. Gram negative cells (e.g. Desulfovibrio desulfuricans ) and gram positive cells (e.g. Bacillus spp .) made bio-Pd comparably active in hydrogenation reactions but have not been compared with respect to hydrogenolysis and dechlorination of chlorinated aromatic compounds. Bio-Pd (0) by D. desulfuricans and Bacillus benzeovorans were prepared and compared with respect to their patterning on bacteria. The Pd-nanoparticle sizes were measured via X-ray powder diffraction via data analysed using Scherrer?s equation which indicated a significant difference in particle size. The bio- Pd catalysts were evaluated with respect to their differing abilities in the dehalogenation of chlorobenzene; both showed higher catalytic activity than commercial palladium on carbon (Pd/C) catalyst
Jacob B. Omajali graduated in 2004 from Kogi State University, Nigeria where he studied Biochemistry. He got sponsored by Petroleum Technology Development Funds , PTDF, in 2008 for Master?s in Industrial and Commercial Biotechnology at Newcastle University, UK. While at Newcastle, Jacob developed an interest in bio-catalysis and environmental remediation. Currently, he is a Ph.D. student at the University of Birmingham, UK under another scholarship