Faculty Directory
William R. Moser
Professor Emeritus
Office: Goddard Hall, 126
Phone: +1-508-831-5773
Fax: +1-508-831-5853
wmoser@wpi.edu
Educational Background
- B.S., Middle Tennessee State University, 1959
- Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1964
Research
Professor Moser's research interests over his industrial and academic careers have involved homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis and novel materials synthesis. In homogeneous catalysis, he invented the Cylindrical Internal Reflectance Reactors (CIR-REACTORS) and Optical Fiber coupled CIR-Reactors (OFCIR-REACTORS), which are now commercial products used for reaction monitoring in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis. These reactors permitted his research group to elucidate the reaction mechanisms of five commercial homogeneous transition metal catalyzed chemical processes and the mechanism of supercritical hydrocarbon cracking by zeoiltes. He was recently issued a patent on remote infrared sensing using optical fiber cables connected to high pressure reactors as well as normal laboratory glassware reactors. Heterogeneous catalysis studies performed in Professor Moser's laboratory have concentrated on understanding the relationship between the solid state structure of multimetallic, nanostructured materials and their catalytic properties. In pursuing these investigations, his group has discovered four novel metal oxide processes used to produce homogeneous solid solution catalysts. The first process is based on a High Temperature Aerosol Decomposition (HTAD) process which produces homogeneous solid solutions and often metastable materials. The second is a process based on mechanically generated hydrodynamic cavitation which produces exceptionally phase pure solid state catalysts and many as nanometer sized particles. These processes were also found to be optimum for producing superconductors, and they offered superior catalytic properties as compared to classically prepared metal oxides. Other research demonstrated the advantages of using high powered ultrasound and surfactant mediated synthesis for nanostrucrtured materials. Recent work elucidated the fundamental properties of supercritical fluids in catalysis using the CIR-Reactor technique for in situ infrared analysis at 450°C and 75 atm.. Professor Moser has been active in zeolite synthesis and in investigations of their catalytic properties for over 20 years. These studies have resulted in novel metal loaded zeolites having unusual and desirable catalytic properties. In addition, high temperature FTIR studies resulted in an elucidation of the role of clustered silanols in promoting chemical reactions. He collaborated with Monsanto scientists to demonstrate that the Temporal Analysis of Products (TAP) Reactor offered unusual capabilities to examine the reaction mechanisms of heterogeneous catalyzed processes. In addition, Dr. Moser has been a member of the research team in the Center for Inorganic Membrane A multi-disciplinary study demonstrated that the equilibrium position of a major commercial process, ethylbenzene dehydration to styrene, could be shifted using catalytic inorganic membranes, and methane oxidative coupling and hydrogen sulfide conversion could be improved through catalytic membrane technology.
Recent Publications
Years of Service at WPI
- Research Professor, 1981-82
- Professor, 1982-2000
Professional Experience & Activities
- Group Leader, CIBA AG, Basel, Switzerland, 1964-66
- Staff Scientist, Organometallic Institute, Zurich, Switzerland, 1966-69
- Senior Research Chemist, Exxon Corporate Lab., Linden NJ, 1969-75
- Director, Catalytic Research Laboratory, Badger Co., Cambridge, MA, 1975-81
- President, Catalytic Technology Associates, Inc, 1981-
