Polymer Technology Center

Perla B. Balbuena

Professor

Department of Chemical Engineering
Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX 77843-3122

Office: 336E Zachary Building
Email: balbuena@tamu.edu
Tel: (979)-845-3375
Fax: (979)-845-6646

Departmental Website

EDUCATION
• B.S. Universidad Tecnol".gica Nacional, Argentina, 1973.
• M.S.E. University of Pennsylvania, 1983.
• Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin, 1996.

WORK EXPERIENCE

• 2004- Professor, Texas A&M University.
• 2002-2004 Associate Professor, University of South Carolina.
• 1997-2002 Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina.
• 1992-1996 Research Associate, University of Texas at Austin.
• 1990-1992 Visiting Scientist, Cornell University, School of Chem. Eng.
• 1978-1994 Assistant Professor, Univ. Nacional del Litoral, Santa Fe, Argentina.
• 1974-1978 CONICET Graduate Fellow, Santa Fe, Argentina

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

Technical Articles
1. L. G. Scanlon, L. R. Lucente, W. A. Feld, G. Sandi, P. B. Balbuena, A. Turner, J. Scofield,
and B. Tsao, "Preparation of a thin film solid-state electrochemical cell with dilithium phtalocyanine (Li2Pc) as the electrolyte," Proceedings of the 205th Meeting of the Electrochemical Society, submitted.
2. Y. Wang and P. B. Balbuena, "Theoretical studies on co-solvation of Li-ion and solvent reductive decomposition in binary mixtures of aliphatic carbonates," Int. J. Quantum
Chem., submitted.
3. Y. Wang and P. B. Balbuena, "Combined ab initio quantum mechanics and classical molecular dynamics studies of polymer electrolytes: Competitive solvation of Li+ and LiCF3SO3," J. Phys. Chem. B, in press.
4. S. R. Calvo, R. J. LeBlanc, C. T. Williams, and P. B. Balbuena, "Molecular dynamics simulations of cinchonidine-modified platinum in ethanol: Comparisons with surface
studies," Surf. Sci., 563, 57-73, (2004).
5. P. B. Balbuena, D. Altomare, N. Vadlamani, S. Bingi, L. A. Agapito, and J. M. Seminario, "Adsorption of O, OH, and H2O on Pt-based bimetallic clusters alloyed with Co, Cr, and Ni," J. Phys. Chem. A, in press.
6. F. Tarazona-Vasquez and P. B. Balbuena, "Complexation of the Lowest Generation Poly(amidoamine)-NH2 Dendrimers with Metal Ions, Metal Atoms, and Cu(II)-Hydrates: An ab Initio Study," J. Phys. Chem. B, submitted, February 2004.
7. F. Tarazona-Vasquez and P. B. Balbuena, "Ab Initio Study of the Lowest Energy
Conformers and IR spectra of Poly(amidoamine)-G0 Dendrimers," J. Phys. Chem. B,
in press.
8. Y. Wang and P. B. Balbuena, "Roles of proton and electric field in the electroreduction of
O2 on Pt(111) surfaces: Results of an ab initio molecular dynamics study ," J. Phys.
Chem. B, 108, 4376-4384, (2004).
9. Y. Zhang, P. R. Alonso, A. Martinez-Limia, L. G. Scanlon, and P. B. Balbuena, "Crystalline structure and Lithium-Ion Channel Formation in Self-Assembled Di-lithium Phtalocyanine: Theory and Experiments," J. Phys. Chem. B., 108, 4659-4668, (2004).
10. L. G. Scanlon, L. R. Lucente, W. A. Feld, G. Sandi, P. B. Balbuena, P. R. Alonso, and A. Turner, "Composite cathode with Li2Pc," J. Electrochem. Soc., in press.
11. D. S. Mainardi and P. B. Balbuena, "Hydrogen and Oxygen Adsorption on Rhn (n =1-6) Clusters" J. Phys. Chem. A., 107, 10370-10380, (2003).
12. D. S. Mainardi, S. Calvo, A. P. J. Jansen, J. J. Lukkien, and P. B. Balbuena, "Dynamic
Monte Carlo Simulations of O2 Adsorption and Reaction on Pt (111)," Chem. Phys. Lett.,
382, 553-560, (2003).
13. Z. Gu, G. Sandi, and P. B. Balbuena, "Molecular dynamics characterization of polymer confinement in nanocomposite catalytic membranes," J. New Mat. Electrochem. Sys., 7, 7-12, (2004).
14. P. B. Balbuena, D. Altomare, L. A. Agapito, and J. M. Seminario, "Theoretical analysis of oxygen adsorption on Pt-based clusters alloyed with Co, Ni, or Cr embedded in a Pt
matrix," J. Phys. Chem. B, 107, 13671-13680, (2003).
15. E. J. Lamas and P. B. Balbuena, "Adsorbate effects on structure and shape of supported nanoclusters: A molecular dynamics study," J. Phys. Chem. B, 107, 11682-11689, (2003).
16. S-P. Huang, D. S. Mainardi, and P. B. Balbuena, "Structure and dynamics of graphite-supported nanoclusters," Surf. Sci., 545, 163-179, (2003).
17. Y. Wang and P. B. Balbuena, "Adsorption and 2-Dimensional Association of Lithium Alkyl Dicarbonates on the Graphite Surface through O-"""Li+"""" (arene) Interactions," J. Phys. Chem. B, 107, 5503-5510, (2003).
18. T. Li and P. B. Balbuena, "Oxygen Reduction on a Platinum Cluster," Chem. Phys. Lett.,
367, 439-447, (2003).

Books
1. S. Calvo, D. S. Mainardi, A. P. J. Jansen, J. J. Lukkien, and P. B. Balbuena, "Test of a Mechanism for O2 Electroreduction on Pt(111) via Dynamic Monte Carlo Simulations." In "Power Sources Modeling",R. G. Jungst, J. W. Weidner, B. W. Liaw, and K. Nechev , Eds., Pennington, NJ, in press.
2. P. B. Balbuena, T. Li, D. S. Mainardi, Y. Wang, and S. Calvo, "Theoretical Studies of
Oxygen Electroreduction on Catalytic Platinum Sites." In "Proceedings of the 3rd
International Conference on Computational Modeling and Simulation of Materials", P. Vincenzini et al., Eds., Techna Group Publishers, SRL, submitted.
3. Y. Wang and P. B. Balbuena, "Theoretical Studies on the Structure, Association, and Solvation: Implication to SEI Layer Phenomena." In "Lithium-Ion Batteries:
Solid-Electrolyte Interphase", P. B. Balbuena and Y. Wang, Eds., Imperial College Press, London, 2003, in press.
4. Y. Wang and P. B. Balbuena, "Theoretical Insights into the SEI Components and Formation Mechanism: Density Functional Theory Studies." In "Lithium-Ion Batteries: Solid-Electrolyte Interphase", P. B. Balbuena and Y. Wang, Eds., Imperial College Press, London, 2003, in press.
5. H. Ploehn, P. Ramadass, R. E. White, D. Altomare, and P. B. Balbuena, "Continuum and Statistical Mechanics-Based Models for Solid Electrolyte Interfaces in Lithium-Ion
Batteries." In "Lithium-Ion Batteries: Solid-Electrolyte Interphase", P. B. Balbuena and Y. Wang, Eds., Imperial College Press, London, 2003, in press.