FURI | Fall 2024
Tetrafluoromethane Adsorption on FAU Framework Zeolites — a DFT and Grand Monte Carlo Study
Tetrafluoromethane (CF 4) is a harmful greenhouse gas with a lifespan of 50,000 years and a greenhouse warming potential roughly 6,500 times that of carbon dioxide. Reclamation and disposal of CF 4 gas are pivotal to preserving our atmosphere and the environment. In silicon chip manufacturing, CF 4 is heavily used, primarily for the plasma etching silicon wafers in combination with sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ). Together, these gases act as an insulator, preventing and suppressing arcing and increasing the maximum voltage the wafer can withstand without breaking down. The standard removal process of CF 4 is to use cryogenic distillation or liquefaction. Both are long, expensive and require hard-to-operate machinery to complete. One cost-effective and efficient solution is to use porous materials such as zeolites with different functional groups to minimize the energy needed to separate the CF 4 gas from N 2 gas. Understanding the molecular dynamics and activation energies required to accomplish this is crucial to selecting possible surfaces for the adsorption and removal of CF 4 gas. Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Grand Monte Carlo (GMC) simulations will help explore zeolite surfaces. A program called ASAP will assign different functional groups to the framework, and VASP will perform the DFT calculations. ZACROS will be used to perform the GMC simulations once the DFT is complete. These computational models will help to better understand and analyze current and potential surfaces for CF 4 absorption.
Student researcher
Jay Edward Schroeder
Chemical engineering
Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Graduation date: Spring 2026