Alexander Orlov

Alexander Orlov

Cambridge University, Ph.D.
Francois Fiessinger Scholar 2001

Environmental Aspects of Heterogeneous Photocatalysis: Studies with Practical Catalysts and Model Systems

Where Are They Now? Dr. Alexander Orlov is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at State University of New York, Stony Brook, USA. He is also a faculty member of the Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Research and an affiliate faculty at Chemistry Department at the same university.

Project Description (while EREF Scholar):
EREF funded research project was focused on development of novel catalysts, which can decompose various pollutants in gas and liquid phases. The materials produced in this work have exhibited unprecedented increase in activity for degradation of both MTBE and 4-chlorophenol. One of the most interesting aspects of this project was in developing useful environmental applications of nanoparticles, which can have a profound effect on environmental quality.  Several studies, including my recent work, have demonstrated that metal nanoparticles have properties that are size dependent. In extreme cases they can behave very differently from the corresponding “ordinary” material. Thus nanoparticles may be used to achieve chemical effects that are otherwise unattainable. These concepts form a basis of emerging field of environmental nanotechnology. The practical outcome of this project was developed through the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge, where a scaled up version of the reactor was used in field trials in Canada.

Biography:
Dr. Alexander Orlov is an Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at State University of New York, Stony Brook, USA. He is also a faculty member of the Consortium for Interdisciplinary Environmental Research and an affiliate faculty at Chemistry Department at the same university. Previously he was a Research Fellow in Science and Engineering at the University of Cambridge/King’s College, UK. Alexander has 5 degrees from various European and the US institutions, including: Doctoral and Master’s degrees in Chemistry from the University of Cambridge (UK) and Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Michigan (USA).  He also holds Diploma in Economics from London School of Economics. His major research and teaching activities are in development of novel materials for environmental protection, environmental chemistry and engineering, materials science, sustainable development, environmental aspects of energy production and environmental nanotechnology areas.

Dr. Orlov is appointed by the UK Secretary of State to advise the current Labour Government on such environmental issues as hazardous substances and environmental impact of nanotechnology. Previously, he was a member of the UK Conservative Party Task Force charged with a development of the Science Policy for the next Conservative Government. Dr. Orlov’s research experience also served him in his position as consultant to several USA congressmen, the EU Commission and the Ukrainian Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources. Alexander’s opinions, interviews and comments appeared in Nature, BBC, Daily Telegraph and Cambridge Evening News. Dr. Orlov is a recipient of National Endowment for Science Technology and Arts CRUCIBLE award (UK) focused on developing skills in communicating science to general public and policy makers.

Research Publications:
Colmenares-Angulo, J., Zhao, S., Young, C., Orlov, A. “The effects of thermal spray technique and post-deposition treatment on the photocatalytic activity of TiO2 coatings”,Surf. Coat. Tech., 204(4), 423-427, 2009.

In, S., Kean, A.H., Orlov, A., Tikhov, M. S., Lambert, R. M. “Versatile new method for synthesis and deposition of doped, visible light-activated TiO2 thin films on any kind of solid surface”, Energy and Environment, 2, 1277-1279, 2009.

Orlov, A., Klinowski, J.K. “Oxidation of VOCs by SBA-15 mesoporous molecular sieves modified with manganese”, Chemosphere, 74, 344-348,  2009.

In, S., Orlov, A., Berg, R., Garcia, F., Pedrosa, S.J., Tikhov, M., Wright, D.S. ,  Lambert, R. M.  “Effective visible light-active B-doped and B,N-codoped TiO2 photocatalysts “, Journal of American Chemical Society, 129, 13790-13791, 2007.

Orlov, A., Watson, D., Williams, F., Tihov, M., Lambert, R. M. “Interactions of 4-chlorophenol with TiO2 polycrystalline surfaces: study of environmental interfaces by NEXAFS, XPS and UPS”, Langmuir, 23, 9551-9554, 2007.

Orlov, A., Jefferson, D., Tikhov, M., Lambert, R. M. “Enhancement of MTBE photocatalytic degradation by modification of TiO2 with gold nanoparticles”, Catalysis Communications, 8, 821-824, 2007.

Gustafsson, R. J., Orlov, A., Griffiths, P. T., Cox, R.A., Lambert, R. M.  “Reduction of NO2 to nitrous acid on illuminated titanium dioxide aerosol surfaces: implications for photocatalysis and atmospheric chemistry”, Chemical Communications, 37, 3936-3938, 2006.

In, S., Orlov, A., Garcia, F.,  Tikhov, M., Wright, D., Lambert, RM. “Efficient visible light-active N-doped TiO2 photocatalysts by a reproducible and controllable synthetic route”, Chemical Communications, 40, 4236-4238, 2006.

Orlov, A., Zhai, Q.Z., Klinowski, J. “Photocatalytic properties of the SBA-15 mesoporous silica molecular sieve modified with titanium”, Journal of Material Science, 41, 2187-2193, 2006.

Orlov, A., Tikhov, M., Lambert, R ” Application of surface science techniques in the study of environmental photocatalysis: nitrogen doped TiO2”, Comptes Rendus Chimie, 9 (5-6), 2794-2799, 2006.

Orlov, A., Chan, M., Jefferson, D.A., Zhou, D., Lynch, R.J., Lambert, R.M. “Photocatalytic degradation of water-soluble organic pollutants on TiO2 modified with gold nanoparticles”, Environmental Technology, 27(7), 747-752, 2006.

Gustafsson, R. J., Orlov, A., Griffiths, P. T., Cox, R.A., Lambert, R. M. “A comprehensive evaluation of water uptake on atmospherically relevant mineral surfaces: a DRIFTS, thermogravimetric analysis and DMA study”, Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 5, 3415-3421, 2005.

Lin, Z. S., Orlov, A., Lambert, R.M., Payne M. C. “New insights into the origin of visible light photocatalytic activity of nitrogen doped and oxygen deficient anatase TiO2”, Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 109 (44), 2005.

Orlov, A., Jefferson, D., Lambert, R. “Effect of noble metal nanoparticles on photocatalytic activity of TiO2”, Transactions of the Material Research Society of Japan, 29, 2004.

Orlov, A., Jefferson, D., Macleod, N., Lambert, R. ” Enhancement of photocatalytic degradation of 4-chlorophenol on titania modified with gold nanoparticles”, Catalysis Letters, 92(1-2), 2004.