Raymond John Gorte is an American

chemical engineer A chemical engineer is a professional equipped with the knowledge of chemistry and other basic sciences who works principally in the chemical industry to convert basic raw materials into a variety of Product (chemistry), products and deals with ...

, currently the Russel Pearce and Elizabeth Crimian Heuer Endowed Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering (CBE) and Materials Science & Engineering (MSE) at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. Throughout his career at the University of Pennsylvania and the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...

, he has advanced the study of

fuel cells A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in req ...

and

catalysts Catalysis () is the increase in reaction rate, rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst ...

including heterogeneous metals and

zeolite Zeolites are a group of several microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a meta ...

materials. He is a member of the U.S.

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

Early life and education

Gorte was born in Wisconsin and grew up in

Manitowoc, Wisconsin Manitowoc ( ) is a city in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. According to the 2020 census, Manitowoc had a population of 34,626. History Purporte ...

. In 1976, he earned a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in chemical engineering from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He completed his Ph.D. in chemical engineering at the University of Minnesota in 1981 with advisor Lanny D. Schmidt on the topic of platinum

catalysis Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...

nitric oxide Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide, nitrogen monooxide, or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes den ...

decomposition. His thesis was published in 1981 with the title, "The Kinetic Interaction of Nitric-Oxide with Single Crystal Platinum".

Professor of chemical engineering

Gorte joined the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1981. He was promoted to associate professor in 1987, and professor in 1993. He is a member of the Penn Center for Energy Innovation, the Laboratory for Research on the Structure of Matter (LRSM), and the Catalysis Center for Energy Innovation.

Fuel cells

Gorte's research in solid oxide

fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen fuel, hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most bat ...

s addresses the design of electrodes and applications in

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and Hydrophobe, hydrophobic; their odor is usually fain ...

oxidation. In 2000 he published an article in ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' with John Vohs describing the oxidation of

methane Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes ...

and higher hydrocarbons with a composite

anode An anode usually is an electrode of a polarized electrical device through which conventional current enters the device. This contrasts with a cathode, which is usually an electrode of the device through which conventional current leaves the devic ...

of copper and ceria that achieves viable power densities while producing carbon dioxide and water.

Solid acids

The design, synthesis, and utilization of

solid acid Solid acids are acids that are insoluble in the reaction medium. They are often used as heterogeneous catalysts. Many solid acids are zeolites. A variety of techniques are used to quantify the strength of solid acids. Examples Examples of ino ...

s such as amorphous silica-alumina,

ZSM-5 ZSM-5, Zeolite Socony Mobil–5 (framework type MFI from ZSM-5 (five)), is an aluminosilicate zeolite belonging to the pentasil family of zeolites. Its chemical formula is NanAlnSi96–nO192·16H2O (0faujasite Faujasite (FAU-type zeolite) is a mineral group in the zeolite family of silicate minerals. The group consists of faujasite-Na, faujasite-Mg and faujasite-Ca. They all share the same basic formula by varying the amounts of sodium, magnesium and ...

relies on an understanding of the chemical site of acidity. Gorte has proposed a description of solid acidity based on a

thermochemical Thermochemistry is the study of the heat energy which is associated with chemical reactions and/or phase changes such as melting and boiling. A reaction may release or absorb energy, and a phase change may do the same. Thermochemistry focuses on ...

cycle including the

proton affinity The proton affinity (PA, ''E''pa) of an anion or of a neutral atom or molecule is the negative of the enthalpy change in the reaction between the chemical species concerned and a proton in the gas phase: ::: A- + H+ -> HA ::: B + H+ -> BH+ ...

, the

interaction energy In physics, interaction energy is the contribution to the total energy that is caused by an interaction between the objects being considered. The interaction energy usually depends on the relative position of the objects. For example, Q_1 Q_2 / ...

, and the

enthalpy Enthalpy () is the sum of a thermodynamic system's internal energy and the product of its pressure and volume. It is a state function in thermodynamics used in many measurements in chemical, biological, and physical systems at a constant extern ...

adsorption Adsorption is the adhesion of atoms, ions or molecules from a gas, liquid or dissolved solid to a surface. This process creates a film of the ''adsorbate'' on the surface of the ''adsorbent''. This process differs from absorption, in which a ...

. Gorte has also developed a method for quantifying acid site concentration based on alkylamine decomposition by the Hoffmann

elimination reaction An elimination reaction is a type of organic reaction in which two substituents are removed from a molecule in either a one- or two-step mechanism. The one-step mechanism is known as the E2 reaction, and the two-step mechanism is known as the E1 r ...

occurring by temperature programmed

desorption Desorption is the physical process where Adsorption, adsorbed atoms or molecules are released from a surface into the surrounding vacuum or fluid. This occurs when a molecule gains enough energy to overcome the activation barrier and the binding e ...

(TPD). He has recently extended this to a highly precise method of "reactive

gas chromatography Gas chromatography (GC) is a common type of chromatography used in analytical chemistry for Separation process, separating and analyzing compounds that can be vaporized without Chemical decomposition, decomposition. Typical uses of GC include t ...

Catalytic chemistry

Gorte's research in catalyst design has led to research projects on numerous applications and chemistries. He has published papers on the water-gas-shift reaction catalyzed by supported metals such as ceria-supported Pt, Pd and Rh. Other applications include: *CO oxidation on supported metals *

Steam reforming Steam reforming or steam methane reforming (SMR) is a method for producing syngas (hydrogen and carbon monoxide) by reaction of hydrocarbons with water. Commonly, natural gas is the feedstock. The main purpose of this technology is often hydrogen ...

of alkanes such as methane and butane. *Dehydration of alcohols.

Works

Gorte has authored more than 400 journal articles on

surface chemistry Surface science is the study of physics, physical and chemistry, chemical phenomena that occur at the interface (chemistry), interface of two phase (matter), phases, including solid–liquid interfaces, solid–gas interfaces, solid–vacuum int ...

, and fuels cells which includes:

With his Advisor

* R. J. Gorte, L. D. Schmidt "Desorption Kinetics with Precursor Intermediates", ''Surface Science'' 76, 559, (1978). * R. J. Gorte, L. D. Schmidt "Temperature Programmed Desorption with Reaction", ''Applications of Surface Science'' 3, 381, (1979). * R. J. Gorte, L. D. Schmidt "Interactions between NO and CO on Pt(111)", ''Surface Science'' 111, 260, (1981). * R. J. Gorte, L. D. Schmidt, J. L. Gland "Binding States and Decomposition of NO on Single Crystal Planes of Pt", ''Surface Science'' 109, 367, (1981). * R. J. Gorte, B. A. Sexton, L. D. Schmidt "The Electron Energy Loss Spectrum of Isocyanic Acid on the Pt(111) Surface", ''Journal of Catalysis'' 67, 387, (1981).

At Univ. of Pennsylvania

* D. J. Parrillo, A. T. Adamo, G. T. Kokotailo, R. J. Gorte "Amine adsorption in H-ZSM-5", ''Applied Catalysis'', 67(1), 107-118, (1990). * G. S. Zafiris, R. J. Gorte "Evidence for low-temperature oxygen migration from ceria to Rh", ''Journal of Catalysis'', 139(2), 561-567, (1993). * D. J. Parrillo, C. Lee, R. J. Gorte "Heats of adsorption for ammonia and pyridine in H-ZSM-5: evidence for identical Brønsted-acid sites", ''Applied Catalysis A: General'', 110(1), 67-74, (1994). * W. E. Farneth, R. J. Gorte "Methods for Characterizing Zeolite Acidity", ''Chemical Reviews'', 95, 615-635, (1995). * T. Bunluesin, R. J. Gorte, G. W. Graham "Studies of the water-gas-shift reaction on ceria-supported Pt, Pd, and Rh: implications for oxygen-storage properties", ''Applied Catalysis B: Environmental'', 15(1-2), 107-114, (1998). * R. J. Gorte "What do we know about the acidity of solid acids?", ''Catalysis Letters'', 62(1), 1-13, (1999). * S. Park, J. M. Vohs, R. J. Gorte "Direct Oxidation of hydrocarbons in a solid oxide fuels cell", ''Nature'', 404(6775), 265, (2000). * Alan Atkinson, S. Barnett, Raymond J. Gorte, J. T. S. Irvine, Augustin J McEvoy, Mogens Mogensen, Subhash C Singhal, J. Vohs "Advanced anodes for high-temperature fuel cells", ''Nature Materials'', 3(1), 17, (2004).

Honors

Gorte has received awards for his contributions to research, education and service, many of which highlight his interest in fuel cells and catalysis and the problems associated with characterization and fundamental mechanisms and kinetics. In 2018, Gorte was elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering. His election citation stated: Other awards and honors include: * (1997) Giuseppe Parravano Memorial Award of the Michigan Catalysis Society * (1998) Philadelphia Catalysis Club Award * (1999) Paul H. Emmett Award in Fundamental Catalysis * (2001) Penn Engineering Distinguished Research Award * (2002) Heilmeier Award for Excellence in Faculty Research * (2009) R.H. Wilhelm Award in Chemical Reaction Engineering

References

External links

Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering - Univ. of Pennsylvania, Prof. GorteThe Penn Center for Energy InnovationGoogle Scholar - Raymond Gorte
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorte, Raymond American chemical engineers Living people People from Manitowoc, Wisconsin University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Engineering alumni Minnesota CEMS Members of the United States National Academy of Engineering American educators 1954 births