Eric I. Altman

About

Eric I. Altman is the Roberto C. Goizueta Professor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering & Materials Science at Yale University. His research focuses on understanding and exploiting chemical processes on solid surfaces, including heterogeneous catalysis and the formation and characterization of novel materials. His work is primarily experimental, with theoretical guidance, and is intrinsically interdisciplinary, involving collaborations across applied physics, chemistry, mechanical engineering, and materials science. Current efforts in his research include developing novel two-dimensional van der Waals forms of silicates and related materials that serve as models for atomic-level understanding of catalytic reactions, potential atomically thin membranes for separations, and atomically thin piezoelectrics. He employs atomic force microscopy to probe intermolecular interactions on surfaces that lead to catalytic reactions and investigates switchable surfaces to facilitate environmentally benign energy reactions. His contributions have been recognized through awards such as the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), and he is a Fellow of the American Vacuum Society and a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.

Research topics

• Chemical engineering
• Chemistry
• Materials science
• Composite material
• Environmental chemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Thermodynamics
• Organic chemistry
• Physical chemistry

Selected publications

• Ambient pressure x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of water formation and adsorption under two-dimensional silica and aluminosilicate layers on Pd(111)

  The Journal of Chemical Physics · 2020 · 50 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  peaks. Spectra recorded under 0.5 Torr water revealed additional water adsorption and a further shift of the overlayer peaks to higher binding energy. Incorporating Al into the 2D material caused the bilayer peaks to shift to lower binding energy which could be explained by electron donation from the metal to the bilayer. Although the stronger interaction between the bilayer and Pd substrate should restrict interfacial adsorption and reaction, similar trends were observed for water and hydrogen…

  DOI

• Molecular Permeation in Freestanding Bilayer Silica

  Nano Letters · 2022 · 23 citations

  , condensable species like water are found to cross vitreous bilayer silica a thousand times faster in accordance with their superficial affinity. This work paves the way for bilayer oxides to be addressed as inherent 2D membranes.

  PublisherDOI

• Energy harvesting using two-dimensional (2D) d-silicates from abundant natural minerals

  Journal of Materials Chemistry C · 2023-01-01 · 18 citations

  article

  This paper demonstrates the exfoliation of naturally occurring silicates into two-dimensional structures. Moving the d-silicate device repeatedly in a vertical direction causes it to react robotically and generate up to ∼400 mV of voltage.

  PublisherDOI

• Magnetism and Piezoelectricity in Stable Transition Metal Silicate Monolayers

  arXiv (Cornell University) · 2020-11-25 · 16 citations

  articleOpen access

  Two-dimensional van der Waals (2D vdW) materials that display ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity have received increased attention. Despite numerous 2D materials have so far been reported as ferromagnetic, developing an air stable and transferable vdW material that is multiferroic has been challenging. To address this problem, we report our work on layered transition metal silicates that are derivatives of kaolinites and lizardites with transition metal substituting on Al$^{3+}$ and Mg$^{2+}$ s…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Twisting and Rippling of a Two-Dimensional Kagome Lattice: Silica on Au(111)

  ACS Materials Letters · 2022-07-29 · 10 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The intrinsic properties of two-dimensional (2D) SiO2 were revealed by forming the material on inert Au(111). Growth by SiO deposition enabled formation of a crystalline phase consisting of two linked sheets of six-membered rings of tetrahedral [SiO4] building units. The bases of the tetrahedra form an isostatic 2D kagome lattice. The weak interaction with Au allowed a new corrugation of the 2D material to be detected: ripples with a ∼4 nm periodicity that help stabilize the 2D crystalline layer…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Manipulating Surface Chemistry Via the Ferroelectric Effect

  NSF · $380k · 2004–2008

• Adsorption and Reaction at Ferroelectric Surfaces: Chemical Switches and Switchable Chemistry

  NSF · $388k · 2008–2012

• Tuning Surface Chemistry through Polarization

  NSF · $390k · 2012–2016

Frequent coauthors

• Udo D. Schwarz

  Yale University

  131 shared

• Sohrab Ismail‐Beigi

  Yale University

  72 shared

• Omur E. Dagdeviren

  Université du Québec à Montréal

  69 shared

• F. J. Walker

  Yale University

  66 shared

• Charles Ahn

  Yale University

  57 shared

• Todd C. Schwendemann

  Southern Connecticut State University

  51 shared

• Chao Zhou

  Jilin University

  50 shared

• Mehmet Z. Baykara

  49 shared

Awards & honors

• Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers…
• Fellow of the American Vacuum Society
• Member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering

Similar researchers at Yale University

• Jaehong Kimh-93
• W. Mark Saltzmanh-92
• Paul Anastash-72