NENG 301: Thermodynamics and Kinetics of Nanomaterials

Term: Fall 2014

Location: NFE 4423
Schedule: MWF 10:25 11:20

Professor: Richard J . Matyi
Professor of Nanoscience
NFE 4419 (office)
437-8772 (phone)
rmatyi@sunycnse.com

Office Hours: Tuesday 9-11 and by appointment
Course Catalogue Description:
Applications of first, second, and third laws of thermodynamics to open and closed systems.
Thermodynamics of multicomponent, multiphase chemical and biological systems are reviewed.
Applies the concepts of reaction rate, stoichiometry and equilibrium to the analysis of materials
systems. Rate expressions from reaction mechanisms and equilibrium or steady state
assumptions are used. Design of reactions via synthesis of kinetics, transport phenomena, and
mass and energy balances are covered. Introduction to diffusional processes.
Learning Objectives:
The student will demonstrate understanding of the basic structure of thermodynamics,
including state functions, process variables, extensive versus intensive properties; and the
First, Second and Third Laws of Thermodynamics.
The student will be able to develop, manipulate, and utilize relationships between
thermodynamic variables and apply these relations to gases, liquids and solids
The student will demonstrate understanding of how thermodynamic processes determine the
equilibrium structures of materials at the macroscale, the microscale, and the nanoscale
The student will learn how the kinetics of physical and chemical processes are dictated by
thermodynamic driving forces
The student will learn how to address important scientific and engineering problems by
thermodynamic and kinetic analyses
Prerequisites of the Course:
AMAT 311, NENG 127 and 129, NENG 203 or NENG 204, and NENG 205 or NENG 206
Course Readings:
1. Thermodynamics in Materials Science (Second Edition), by R. DeHoff (CRC Press, Taylor
& Francis Group, 2006) Note: this textbook is required for this course
2. Selections from Phase Transformations in Metals and Alloys, by D.A. Porter and K.E.
Easterling

Lectures, PowerPoints, and Blackboard:
Lectures will be MWF 10:25 to 11:20; attendance is expected and mandatory (i.e., it would
be foolish for you to miss lectures!)
Lectures will be given in a PowerPoint format. I will strive to generate a full PowerPoint
presentation for each of my lectures (39 are planned)
PowerPoint files will be posted on the class Blackboard site before class
It is possible/probable that I may prepare too many slides to fit into a 55 minute class period;
in this case, I will halt the presentation wherever it is and pick up from that spot at the
beginning of the next lecture
I am currently debating my policies regarding the use of electronic devices (computer,
tablets, etc.) to access PowerPoint files real-time during my lecture. Details will be
forthcoming.
Grading:
The course will be graded using an A-E system. Pluses and minuses will be awarded. Final
grades will be based on the two midterms (220%), the final exam (40%), and homework +in-
class participation (20%).
Midterm exams: Two midterms exams are scheduled during our regular class time for
Wednesday, September 24 and Friday, October 31. Details of the exams will be forthcoming
at a later time.
Final exam: The final exam will be comprehensive in that it will cover all material addressed in
this course. Date and time for the final exam are TBD.
Homework (20%): There will be approximately six homework assignments over the semester.
Students will be required to hand in all assignments. You are encouraged to work on
homework assignments as a group, but final work must be your own. Any homework
write-ups that are obviously collaborative will be considered cheating and will be given a
score of zero.
Homework assignments are to be completed as a Microsoft Word document and should be
submitted for grading on the class Blackboard site. Please ensure that you use an equation editor
for generating your homework solutions. If these requirements cause you any hardship, please
contact me to discuss possible alternative approaches.
Professor Accessibility
Office access: My office is NFE 4419, and I have set nominal office hours (when I can
reasonably be expected to be available on a walk-in basis) as Tuesday from 9AM to 11AM. I am
happy to meet with you outside of the regularly scheduled office hours; please contact me in
advance via e-mail to schedule an appointment.
E-mail policy: I will respond to any e-mails within 1 business day unless otherwise announced.
Reponses should not be expected outside of business hours.
Travel and meetings: I may have meetings from time to time throughout the semester that may
conflict with our class time. I will notify you by e-mail if there is a disruption in our class
schedule. Similarly, I will contact you via e-mail if there is any change to our class schedule due
to planned or unplanned travel.
Academic Dishonesty
Academic Dishonesty refers to plagiarism, cheating, multiple submission, forgery, sabotage,
falsification, unauthorized collaboration, and bribery and will not be tolerated in this course.
Any incidence of academic dishonesty will result in an automatic failure of at least the
assignment if not the course and will be reported in writing to the CNSE Office for Student
Services.
Course Outline and Time Table
The information presented below is extremely preliminary. Dates and material covered are
subject to change. Supporting materials will be posted on Blackboard as the semester progresses.

Class introduction 8/25
Basic concepts of thermodynamics (Chap. 1) 8/27
Structure of Thermodynamics (Chap. 2) 8/29, 9/3
Laws of Thermodynamics (Chap. 3) 9/5, 9/8
Thermodynamic Variables and Relationships (Chap. 4) 9/10, 9/12, 9/15, 9/17
Equilibrium in Thermodynamic Systems (Chap. 5) 9/19, 9/22

Midterm Exam No. 1 Wednesday, 9/24/14

Unary Heterogeneous Systems (Chap. 7) 9/29, 10/1, 10/3
Multicomponent Homogeneous Systems (Chap. 8) 10/6, 10/8, 10/10, 10/13
Multicomponent Heterogeneous Systems (Chap. 9) 10/15, 10/17, 10/20
Thermodynamics of Phase Diagrams (Chap. 10) 10/22, 10/24, 10/27, 10/29

Midterm Exam No. 2 Friday, 10/31/14

Multicomponent Multiphase React. Systems (Chap. 11) 11/3, 11/5, 11/7, 11/10
Capillarity Effects (Chap. 12) 11/12, 11/14

Kinetics Diffusion 11/17 11/19, 11/21,
Kinetics Oxidation 11/24, 12/1
Kinetics Nucleation and Growth 12/3, 12/5, 12/8

Final Exam TBD