Balint Ioan

Senior researcher

Scientific secretary

Institute of Physical Chemistry of Romanian Academy "Ilie Murgulescu"

Spl. Independentei 202, 060021 Bucharest, Romania
Tel: (40) 21-638 53 70, Fax: (40)-21-312 11 47;
email: ibalint@icf.ro

Research interests

Surface Science

- non-isothermal gas desorption kinetic from supported-metal catalysts;
- solid defect chemistry;
- water-gas shift reaction on surface of simple and doped ionic oxides.

Material synthesis

- mesoporous nano oxides;
- mono/bimetallic metal nanoparticles.

Catalysis

- catalytic combustion of hydrocarbons;
- oxidative coupling of methane;
- hydrogenation and oxidative conversion of conversion hydrocarbons;
- deNOx reaction;
- structure-sensitive reactions;
- nitrate and nitrite abatement

Photocatalysis / light harvesting

- water and air depollution;
- water splitting;
- light-induced reactive oxygen species generation;
- dye sensitized solar cells.


Research experience / Scientific Stages

- Unesco Fellowship, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan (1991-1992)

- Invited professor, Tokyo Institute of Technology (1997 - 1998; 1999-2000)

- Post-doc fellowship, University Pierre et, Paris, France (1998-1999)

- JSPS post-doc fellowship, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan (2000-2002)

- Grant in Aid from Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, Science and Technology,
     Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan (2002-2005)


Patents (selected)

"Catalyst and treatment procedure for treatment of waters impurified with nitrates and chlorinated organic compounds",
     Patent nr. 132035 B1/ 29.11.2019.


Independent evaluator expert

  • EU Research Program FP7-NMP-SMALL-1: 2.2-3 "Advanced Materials Architectures for Energy conversion", 2007

  • EU Research Program FP7-ENERGY-NMP-2008-1: "Novel materials for energy application", 2008

  • EU Research Program FP7-NMP-2008-SMALL-2, NMP-2008-1.2-3 "Development of technologies for the controlled combustion of nanoparticles"

Academic awards

Academic award for chemical research Nicolae Teclu (1987) for scientific contribution on the topic: "atalytic sensors for combustible gas detection".


Books

  • "Nanocrystal dispersed platinum particles: preparation and catalytic properties" Encyclopedia of nanoscience and nanotechnology, Editors: J. A. Schwarz C. Contescu and K.Putyera, Publisher: Marcel Dekker Inc., 2004, pp 2259-2268.
  • "Leading Edge Catalysis Research; "Preparation of nanodispersed Ru Supported on γ - Al2O3 and its Catalytic Activity for ammonia synthesis and for methane oxidative conversion" Editors: Lawrence P. Bevy; Publisher: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2006, pp 98-128. ISSBN 1-59454-496-4.
  • "Metal nanoclusters in catalysis and material science; The issue of size control"; Part B (Methodologies), Chapter 16, "Synthesis of morphologically controlled Pt nanoparticles and their application in catalytic reactions" Editors: B. Corain, G. Schmid, and N. Toshima, Elsevier 2008, pp 301-305, ISBN-13: 978-0-444-53057-8.
  • "Purification of waste water using alumina as catalysts support and as an adsorbent in Waste Water", Edited by F. S. G. Einshlag, INTECH, Vienna, Austria, pp 277-298 (2011).
  • "SiO2-Based Materials for Immobilization of Enzymes" Nanomaterials - Toxicity, Human Health and Environment, IntechOpen_2019. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.87046

Publications (selected)

  • Ioan Balint and Ken-ichi Aika, "Interaction of water with 1% Li/MgO: dc conductivity of Li/MgO catalyst for methane selective activation ", J.Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans., 91(12), 1805-1811 (1995).
  • Ioan Balint and Ken-ichi Aika, "The defect chemistry of lithium-doped magnesium oxide", J.Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans., 93, 1797-1801 (1997).
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Aika, "The alumina dissolution promoted by CuSO4 precipitation", Chem. Mater., 11(2), 378-383, 1999.
  • Ioan Balint, Marie-Anne Springuel-Huet, Ken-ichi Aika and Jacques Fraissard, "Evidence for oxygen vacancy formation in HZSM-5 at high temperature", Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 1, 3845-3851, 1999.
  • Ioan Balint and K. Aika, "Temperature-programmed desorption study of water-gas shift and methane steam reforming reactions over Li/MgO catalyst", Appl. Catal. A: General, 196(2), 209-215, 2000.
  • Ioan Balint and Ken-ichi Aika, "Specific defect sites creation by doping MgO with lithium and titanium" , Applied Surf. Sci., 173 (3-4), 296-306, 2001.
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Aika, "Alumina dissolution during impregnation with PdCl42- in acid pH range"; Chem. Mater., 13(3), 932-938, 2001.
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Aika, "NO reduction by CH4 over well-structured Pt nanocrystals supported on γ -Al2O3" Chem. Lett., (10), 1024-1025, 2001.
  • Akane Miyazaki, Ioan Balint, Ken-ichi Aika and Yoshio Nakano, "Preparation of Ru nanoparticles supported on γ -Al2O3 and its novel catalytic activity for ammonia synthesis", J. Catal., 204, 364-371, 2001.
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Aika, "NO reduction by CH4 over well-structured Pt nanocrystals supported on γ-Al2O3", Appl. Catal. B, 37 (3), 217-229, 2002.
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Aika, "Methane reaction with NO over alumina supported Ru nanoparticles" J. Catal. 207 (1), 66-75, 2002.
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Aika, "Investigation of the morphology-catalytic reactivity relationship for the Pt nanoparticles supported on alumina by using the reduction of NO with CH4 as a model reaction", Chem. Commun, (10), 1044-1045, 2002.
  • Ioan Balint, Zhixiong You and Ken-ichi Aika, "Morphology and oxide phase control in the microemulsion mediated synthesis of  barium stabilized alumina nanoparticles" Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 4, 2501 - 2503, 2002.
  • Zhixiong You, Ioan Balint, and Ken-ichi Aika, "Synthesis of thermally stable Cs-doped alumina nanoparticles by microemulsion method", Chem. Lett., (11), 1090-1091, 2002.
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki, Ken-ichi Aika, "The relevance of Runanoparticles morphology and oxidation state to the partial oxidation of methane", J. Catal., 220 (1), 74-83, 2003.
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki and Ken-ichi Aika, "Effect of platinum morphology on lean reduction of NO with C3H6" Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 6 (9), 2000 - 2002, 2004.
  • Zhixiong You, Ioan Balint, Ken-ichi Aika "Catalytic combustion of methane over microemulsion-derived MnOx–Cs2O–Al2O 3 nanocomposites" Applied Catalysis B: 53(4), 233–244, 2004.
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki, Ken-ichi Aika, "On the kinetic and structure sensitivity of lean reduction of NO with C3H6 over nanodispersed Pt crystals" Appl. Catal. B, 59, 72-81, 2005.
  • Akane Miyazaki, M. Asakawa, Ioan Balint, "Nitrite reduction on the morphologically controlled Pt nanoparticles" Chem. Com., 44, 3730-3732, 2005.
  • Flori Papa, Luminita Patron, Oana Carp, Carmen Paraschiv, Balint Ioan "Catalytic activity of neodymium substituted zinc ferrites for oxidative conversion of methane" J. Mol. Catal., 299 (1-2), 93-97 (2009).
  • Ioan Balint, Akane Miyazaki, "Novel preparation method of well-defined mesostructured nanoaluminas via carbon-alumina composites" Microporous Mesoporous Mater, 122, 216-222 (2009).
  • Crina Anastasescu, Maria Zaharescu, Ioan Balint "Unexpected photocatalytic activity of simple and platinum modified tubular SiO2 for the oxidation of oxalic acid to CO2" Catal. Lett., 132 (1-2), 81-86, (2009).
  • Florica Papa, Dana Gingasu, Luminita Patron, Akane Miyazaki, Ioan Balint "On the nature of active sites and catalytic activity for OCM reaction of  alkaline-earth oxides-neodymia catalytic systems" Appl. Catal. A,375 (1), 172–178 (2010).
  • Florica Papa, Patron Luminita, Petre Osiceanu, Ruxandra Barjega, Miyazaki Akane, Ioan Balint "Acid-base properties of the active sites responsible for C2+ and CO2 formation over MO-Sm2O3 (M=Zn, Mg, Ca and Sr) mixed oxides in OCM reaction" J. Mol. Catal., 346 (2011) 46-54.
  • Crina Anastasescu, Mihai Anastasescu, Maria Zaharescu, Ioan Balint, "Platinum-modified SiO2 with tubular morphology as efficient membrane-type microreactors for mineralization of formic acid" J. Nanoparticle Res., 14(10), 1198-1209, 2012.
  • G. Dobrescu, F. Papa, R. State, I.Fangli, I. Balint "Particle size distribution of Pt-Cu bimetallic nanoparticles by fractal analysis" Powder Technol., 269 (2015) 532-540;
  • Akane Miyazaki, Kahori Matsuda, Florica Papa, Mariana Scurtu, Catalin Negrila, Gianina Dobrescu, Ioan Balint "Impact of particle size and metal-support interaction on denitration behavior of well-defined Pt-Cu nanoparticles" Catal. Sci. Technol., 5 (1), (2015) 492 - 503;
  • C. Anastasescu, N. Spataru, D. Culita, I. Atkinson, T. Spataru, V. Bratan, C. Munteanu, M. Anastasescu, C. Negrila, I.Balint "Chemically assembled light harvesting CuOx-TiO2 p-n heterostructures" Chem. Eng. J., 281 (2015) 303-311;
  • C. Anastasescu, M. Zaharescu, D. Angelescu, C. Munteanu, V. Bratan, T. Spataru, Catalin Negrila, Niculae Spataru, I. Balint "Defect-related light absorption, photoluminiscence and photocatalytic activity of SiO2 with tubular morphology" Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 159 (2017) 325-335.
  • R. N State, F. Papa, T. Tabakova, I. Atkinson, C. Negrila, I. Balint "Photocatalytic abatement of trichlorethylene (TCE) over Au and Pd-Au supported on TiO2 by combined photomineralization/hydrodechlorination reactions under simulated solar irradiation" J. Catal., 346 (2017) 101–108.
  • Crina Anastasescu, Catalin Negrila, Daniel G. Angelescu, Irina Atkinson, Mihai Anastasescu, Nicolae Spataru, Maria Zaharescu and Ioan Balint "Particularities of photocatalysis and formation of reactive oxygen species on insulators and semiconductors: cases of SiO2, TiO2 and their composite SiO2-TiO2" Catalysis Sci. & Technol., 8 (2018), 5657-5668.
  • S. Preda, C. Anastasescu, I. Balint, P. Umek, M. Sluban, C. Negrila, D. G. Angelescu, V.Bratan, A. Rusu, M. Zaharescu "Charge separation and ROS generation on tubular sodium titanates exposed to simulated solar light" Appl. Surf. Sci., 470, (2019) 1053-1063.

Research contracts (selected)

  • "Investigation of active centers formed in zeolithes at high temperatures" Grant ANSTI nr. 5206 / 1999 - 2001 (project head);
  • "Preparation of morphological controlled metal nanocrystals and their application for structure sensitive catalytic reactions" Grant CNCSIS nr. 724/2006 –2008, a research project with National Council of Scientific Research in Universities (project head);
  • "Architectures of advanced materials with applications for the treatment of waste waters" Grant CNMP (National Center of Programs Management) -Program 4-Partenerhip in priority domains, 2008-2011 (project coordinator);
  • "New bimetallic nanoparticles with applications for removal of chlorinated compound in water and for biosensors" Grant PN II, BICLEANBIOS 46/2012, 2012-2015. (project coordinator);
  • "Advanced materials and laser/plasma processing technologies for energy and deppolution applications: increase of aplication potential and scientific interconnectivity in eco-nano technologies" Grant PCCDI 41/2018 "MALASENT" (project responsible).