Dr. Vladimir Novak

photo of Vladimir Novak

Scientist

Paul Scherrer Institut
Forschungsstrasse 111
5232 Villigen PSI
Schweiz
Telefon
+41 56 552 40 06

 

 

 

Currently I am a Marie Curie fellow at the TOMCAT beamline at the Swiss Light Source. I hold a PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. Topic of my thesis was development of mathematical models to understand behaviour of hierarchical pore structures for application in heterogeneous catalysis. During my PhD, I carried out internships at Imperial College London, TU Berlin and Johnson Matthey. After finishing my degree I worked as a scientist for 5 years in the technology centre of Johnson Matthey developing novel catalytic systems to tackle automotive emissions. I joined TOMCAT group in 2018.

I am interested to study evolution of multiphase systems in 4D (space and time) to understand interactions between solid, liquid and gas. I have been developing experimental cells to perform such experiments under controlled temperature, pressure and gas environment. I have been also exploring the possibilities of automatic image processing and segmentation due to large amount of data collected during a time-resolved experiment. The  applications I am currently working on include:

  • catalyst manufacturing process: coating deposition & drying
  • pharmaceutical applications: liquid/melt tablet impregnation & tablet disintegration
  • gas flow through porous structures

I help users at the TOMCAT beamline to carry out their experiments, which are often in-situ & time-resolved.

Hill-Casey F, Hotchkiss T, Hardstone KA, Hitchcock I, Novak V, Schlepütz CM, Meersmann T, Pavlovskaya GE & Rigby SP, Hyperpolarised xenon MRI and time-resolved X-ray computed tomography studies of structure-transport relationships in hierarchical porous media, (2021) Chemical Engineering Journal, 405: 126750, pp. 57.  DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.128057

Hill-Casey F, Hotchkiss T, Hardstone KA, Hitchcock I, Novak V, Schlepütz CM, Meersmann T, Pavlovskaya GE & Rigby SP, Hyperpolarised xenon MRI and time-resolved X-ray computed tomography studies of structure-transport relationships in hierarchical porous media, (2021) Chemical Engineering Journal, 405: 126750, pp. 57.  DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2020.126750

Spurin C, Bultreys T, Rücker M, Garfi G, Schlepütz CM, Novak V, Berg S, Blunt MJ, Krevor S. Real-time imaging reveals distinct pore-scale dynamics during transient and equilibrium subsurface multiphase, (2020) flow Water Resources Research. 56 (12), pp 10. DOI: 10.1029/2020WR028287

Kočí, P., Isoz, M., Plachá, M., Arvajová, A., Václavík, M., Svoboda, M., Price, E., Novák, V., Thompsett, D. 3D reconstruction and pore-scale modeling of coated catalytic filters for automotive exhaust gas aftertreatment, (2019) Catalysis Today, 320, pp. 165-174.  DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2017.12.025

Václavík, M., Kočí, P., Novák, V., Thompsett, D. NOx conversion and selectivity in multi-layer and sequential DOC-LNT automotive exhaust catalysts: Influence of internal transport, (2017) Chemical Engineering Journal, 329, pp. 128-134. DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2017.05.129

Václavík, M., Plachá, M., Kočí, P., Svoboda, M., Hotchkiss, T., Novák, V., Thompsett, D. Structure characterisation of catalytic particulate filters for automotive exhaust gas aftertreatment, (2017) Materials Characterization, 134, pp. 311-318. DOI: 10.1016/j.matchar.2017.11.011

Dudák, M., Novák, V., Kočí, P., Marek, M., Blanco-García, P., Thompsett, D. Impact of zeolite and γ-alumina intra-particle diffusion on the performance of a dual layer catalyst, (2016) Chemical Engineering Journal, 301, pp. 178-187. DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2016.04.085

Václavík, M., Novák, V., Březina, J., Kočí, P., Gregori, G., Thompsett, D. Effect of diffusion limitation on the performance of multi-layer oxidation and lean NOx trap catalysts, (2016) Catalysis Today, 273, pp. 112-120. DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2016.03.013

Chen, H.-Y., Collier, J.E., Liu, D., Mantarosie, L., Durán-Martín, D., Novák, V., Rajaram, R.R., Thompsett, D. Low Temperature NO Storage of Zeolite Supported Pd for Low Temperature Diesel Engine Emission Control, (2016) Catalysis Letters, 146 (9), pp. 1706-1711. DOI: 10.1007/s10562-016-1794-6

Novák, V., Dudák, M., Kočí, P., Marek, M. Understanding the gas transport in porous catalyst layers by using digital reconstruction techniques (2015) Current Opinion in Chemical Engineering, 9, pp. 16-26. DOI: 10.1016/j.coche.2015.07.002

Václavík, M., Dudák, M., Novák, V., Medlín, R., Štěpánek, F., Marek, M., Kočí, P. Yeast cells as macropore bio-templates enhancing transport properties and conversions in coated catalyst layers for exhaust gas oxidation, (2014) Chemical Engineering Science, 116, pp. 342-349. DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2014.04.037

Novák, V., Ortel, E., Winter, B., Butz, B., Paul, B., Kočí, P., Marek, M., Spiecker, E., Kraehnert, R. Prototyping of catalyst pore-systems by a combined synthetic, analytical and computational approach: Application to mesoporous TiO2, (2014) Chemical Engineering Journal, 248, pp. 49-62. DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2014.02.004

Dudák, M., Novák, V., Kočí, P., Marek, M., Blanco-García, P., Jones, G. Prediction of diffusivity and conversion of n-decane and CO in coated Pt/γ-Al2O3 catalyst depending on porous layer morphology, (2014) Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, 150-151, pp. 446-458. DOI: 10.1016/j.apcatb.2013.12.018

Novák, V., Kočí, P., Gregor, T., Choi, J.-S., Štěpánek, F., Marek, M. Effect of cavities and cracks on diffusivity in coated catalyst layer, (2013) Catalysis Today, 216, pp. 142-149. DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2013.07.002

Novák, V., Kočí, P., Marek, M., Štěpánek, F., Blanco-García, P., Jones, G. Multi-scale modelling and measurements of diffusion through porous catalytic coatings: An application to exhaust gas oxidation, (2012) Catalysis Today, 188 (1), pp. 62-69. DOI: 10.1016/j.cattod.2012.03.049

Novák, V., Kočí, P., Štěpánek, F., Marek, M. Integrated multiscale methodology for virtual prototyping of porous catalysts, (2011) Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Research, 50 (23), pp. 12904-12914. DOI: 10.1021/ie2003347

Novák, V., Kočí, P., Štěpánek, F., Kubíček, M., Marek, M. Simulated preparation of supported porous catalyst and evaluation of its reaction-transport properties, (2011) Computers and Chemical Engineering, 35 (5), pp. 964-972. DOI: 10.1016/j.compchemeng.2011.01.039

Novák, V., Štěpánek, F., Kočí, P., Marek, M., Kubíček, M. Simulated preparation of supported porous catalyst and evaluation of its reaction-transport properties, (2010) Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, 28 (C), pp. 67-72. DOI: 10.1016/S1570-7946(10)28012-4

Novák, V., Štěpánek, F., Kočí, P., Marek, M., Kubíček, M. Evaluation of local pore sizes and transport properties in porous catalysts, (2010) Chemical Engineering Science, 65 (7), pp. 2352-2360. DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2009.09.009

Kočí, P., Novák, V., Štěpánek, F., Marek, M., Kubíček, M. Multi-scale modelling of reaction and transport in porous catalysts (2010) Chemical Engineering Science, 65 (1), pp. 412-419. DOI: 10.1016/j.ces.2009.06.068