Structural Studies of Amorphous and Nanocrystalline Material

Total Scattering Structural Studies of Asphaltenes 

Lead Researcher: Stuart Burns, Mohsen Mahmoudvand

The goal of this work is to establish the molecular structure and kinetics of asphaltenes, known as “the cholesterol of petroleum”. These aromatic molecules drastically hinder the viscosity of heavy oil in pipelines and are not well understood. Through x-ray scattering, we aim to understand the aggregation of these molecules and explore the chemical alteration in order to modify solubility. 

Local Structure Studies of Disordered MOFs