Chemical Engineer
Chemical Engineer

Biography

As a Chemical Engineer in the Geochemistry group at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Dr. Trent R. Graham investigates the molecular-scale processes in nuclear waste. Using various orthogonal research methods to study solvated oxyanions, he has a specialized research focus on advancing the use of NMR spectroscopy for challenging quadrupolar nuclei important for tank waste processing. This helps provide more detailed understanding of the structure, dynamics, and reactivity within these complex systems. 

Dr. Graham began his research at PNNL in 2017 as a PNNL-WSU Distinguished Graduate Research Program fellow. He earned his PhD in Chemical Engineering from Washington State University.

Research Interest

  • Coordination changes in mineral transformations
  • Solvent dynamics
  • Chemical reactivity
  • Solute organization
  • Pre-nucleation species in highly alkaline systems
  • Pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) diffusometry
  • Quadrupolar nuclei

Disciplines and Skills

  • NMR
  • Solid-state NMR
  • Raman spectroscopy
  • Scanning electron microscopy
  • X-ray diffractometry

Education

  • PhD, Chemical Engineering, Washington State University
  • BS, Biological Engineering, Washington State University

Awards and Recognitions

  • Outstanding Performance award, PNNL, 2020

Publications

See Dr. Graham's ORCiD profile for the full list of his publications and reports.

2024

  • Graham T.R., A.R. Kennedy, R. Felsted, R.A. Colina Ruiz, E.T. Nienhuis-Marcial, J.G. Reynolds, and C.I. Pearce. 2024. "Multinuclear PFGSTE NMR description of 39K, 23Na, 7Li, and 1H specific activation energies governing diffusion in alkali nitrite solutions." Journal of Magnetic Resonance 364, no. _:Art. No. 107707. PNNL-SA-197007. doi:10.1016/j.jmr.2024.107707
  • Scott S.R., J. Williams, S. Mastromarino, N.A. Gajos, C.K. Berry, I.R. Anderson, and S.D. Shen, et al. 2024. "Round-robin analysis of highly depleted lithium for Generation IV nuclear reactor applications." Nuclear Engineering and Design 429, no. _:Art. No. 113664. PNNL-SA-197586. doi:10.1016/j.nucengdes.2024.113664
  • Scott S.R., K.P. Hobbs, T.R. Graham, N.A. Gajos, C.K. Berry, and I.R. Anderson. 2024. ICP-MS For Analysis of Lithium Isotopic Ratios in Materials Highly Enriched in 7Li (CRADA 626) Final Report. PNNL-37182. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. ICP-MS For Analysis of Lithium Isotopic Ratios in Materials Highly Enriched in 7Li (CRADA 626) Final Report
  • Wang H., E.T. Nienhuis-Marcial, T.R. Graham, M. Pouvreau, J.G. Reynolds, M.E. Bowden, and G.K. Schenter, et al. 2024. "Resolving intermediates during the growth of aluminum deuteroxide (Hydroxide) polymorphs in high chemical potential solutions." ACS Nano 7, no. _:Art. No. 199. PNNL-SA-195090. doi:10.1038/s42004-024-01285-1
  • Zhao X., T. Rangel Guillen, T.R. Graham, P. Chen, Y. Zhao, S.T. Mergelsberg, and Z. Zhu, et al. 2024. "Incorporation of rare earth elements Sc, Y and La into gibbsite." Chemical Engineering Journal 485. PNNL-SA-189899. doi:10.1016/j.cej.2024.149809

2023

  • Graham T.R., B.N. Gartman, A. Bautista, L. Irwin, E.J. Shelby, D.L. Saunders, and T.J. Johnson, et al. 2023. "Spectroscopic features of dissolved iodine in pristine and gamma-irradiated nitric acid solutions." Journal of Molecular Liquids 387. PNNL-SA-178034. doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2023.122631
  • Graham T.R., J. Castillo, S.I. Sinkov, A.V. Gelis, G.J. Lumetta, and H.M. Cho. 2023. "Multiplicity of Th(IV) and U(VI) HEH[EHP] chelates at low temperatures from concentrated nitric acid extractions." Inorganic Chemistry 62, no. 2:792-801. PNNL-SA-176854. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c03307
  • Graham T.R., Y. Wei, E.D. Walter, E.T. Nienhuis-Marcial, J. Chun, G.K. Schenter, and K.M. Rosso, et al. 2023. "Tracking nitrite’s deviation from Stokes-Einstein predictions with pulsed field gradient 15N NMR spectroscopy." Chemical Communications 59, no. 97:14407-14410. PNNL-SA-189626. doi:10.1039/d3cc04168a
  • Hall G.B., E.L. Campbell, N.P. Bessen, T.R. Graham, H.M. Cho, M.D. RisenHuber, and F.D. Heller, et al. 2023. "Extraction of Nitric Acid and Uranium with DEHiBA Under High Loading Conditions." Inorganic Chemistry 62, no. 17:6711-6721. PNNL-SA-181489. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.3c00288
  • Loughran R.P., T. Hurley, A. Gladysiak, A. Chidambaram, K. Khivantsev, E.D. Walter, and T.R. Graham, et al. 2023. "CO2 capture from wet flue gas using a water-stable and cost-effective metal-organic framework." Cell Reports Physical Science 4, no. 7:Art. No. 101470. PNNL-SA-171951. doi:10.1016/j.xcrp.2023.101470
  • Nienhuis-Marcial E.T., T.R. Graham, N.L. DAnnunzio, M.I. Kowalska, J.A. Laverne, T.M. Orlando, and J.G. Reynolds, et al. 2023. "Cations Impact Radical Reaction Dynamics in Concentrated Multicomponent Aqueous Solutions." The Journal of Chemical Physics 158, no. 22:Art. No. : 224503. PNNL-SA-183737. doi:10.1063/5.0153132
  • Wei Y., E.T. Nienhuis-Marcial, S.T. Mergelsberg, T.R. Graham, Q. Guo, G.K. Schenter, and C.I. Pearce, et al. 2023. "Cation Coordination Polyhedra Lead to Multiple Lengthscale Organization in Aqueous Electrolytes." Chemical Communications 59, no. 69:10400-10403. PNNL-SA-184607. doi:10.1039/D3CC02416D

2022

  • Graham T.R., E.T. Nienhuis-Marcial, J.G. Reynolds, J. Marcial, J.S. Loring, K.M. Rosso, and C.I. Pearce. 2022. "Sodium Site Occupancy and Phosphate Speciation in Natrophosphate are Invariant to Changes to NaF and Na3PO4 Concentration." Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers 9, no. 19:4864-4875. PNNL-SA-172524. doi:10.1039/d2qi00868h
  • Graham T.R., J. Chun, G.K. Schenter, X. Zhang, S.B. Clark, C.I. Pearce, and K.M. Rosso. 2022. "27Al NMR diffusometry of Al13 Keggin nanoclusters." Magnetic Resonance in Chemistry 60, no. 2:226-238. PNNL-SA-160471. doi:10.1002/mrc.5218
  • Graham T.R., J.Z. Hu, N.R. Jaegers, X. Zhang, C.I. Pearce, and K.M. Rosso. 2022. "An amorphous sodium aluminate hydrate phase mediates aluminum coordination changes in highly alkaline sodium hydroxide solutions." Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers 9, no. 24:6344-6357. PNNL-SA-169590. doi:10.1039/D2QI01642G
  • Hall G.B., M.P. Prange, T.R. Graham, H.M. Cho, N. Govind, and G.J. Lumetta. 2022. Probing f-orbital covalency through the fold angles of transuranium dithiolene complexes. PNNL-33295. Richland, WA: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Probing f-orbital covalency through the fold angles of transuranium dithiolene complexes
  • Nienhuis-Marcial E.T., M. Pouvreau, T.R. Graham, M.P. Prange, K. Page, J.S. Loring, and A.G. Stack, et al. 2022. "Structure and reactivity of sodium aluminate complexes in alkaline solutions." Journal of Molecular Liquids 367, no. Part A:Art. No. 120379. PNNL-SA-175319. doi:10.1016/j.molliq.2022.120379

2021

  • Graham T.R., M. Dembowski, H. Wang, S.T. Mergelsberg, E.T. Nienhuis-Marcial, J.G. Reynolds, and C.H. Delegard, et al. 2021. "Hydroxide promotes ion pairing in the NaNO2-NaOH-H2O system." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics 23, no. 1:112-122. PNNL-SA-156222. doi:10.1039/D0CP04799F
  • Dembowski M., J.S. Loring, M.E. Bowden, J.G. Reynolds, T.R. Graham, K.M. Rosso, and C.I. Pearce. 2021. "The controlling role of atmosphere in dawsonite versus gibbsite precipitation from tetrahedral aluminate species." Dalton Transactions 50, no. 38:13438-13446. PNNL-SA-163459. doi:10.1039/D1DT02081A
  • Lu X., J. Reiser, B. Parruzot, L. Deng, I. Gussav, J. Neuefeind, and T.R. Graham, et al. 2021. "Effects of Al:Si and (Al+Na):Si Ratios on the Properties of the International Simple Glass, Part II: Structure." Journal of the American Ceramic Society 104, no. 1:183-207. PNNL-SA-152946. doi:10.1111/jace.17447
  • Livo K., M. Prasad, and T.R. Graham. 2021. "Quantification of dissolved O2 in bulk aqueous solutions and porous media using NMR relaxometry." Scientific Reports 11, no. 1:Article No.290. PNNL-SA-158252. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-79441-5
  • Lu X., J. Reiser, B. Parruzot, L. Deng, I. Gussav, J. Neuefeind, and T.R. Graham, et al. 2021. "Effects of Al:Si and (Al+Na):Si Ratios on the Properties of the International Simple Glass, Part II: Structure." Journal of the American Ceramic Society 104, no. 1:183-207. PNNL-SA-152946. doi:10.1111/jace.17447
  • Mergelsberg S.T., S.L. Riechers, T.R. Graham, M.P. Prange, and S.N. Kerisit. 2021. "Effect of Cd on the Nucleation and Transformation of Amorphous Calcium Carbonate." Crystal Growth & Design 21, no. 6:3384-3393. PNNL-SA-159457. doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.1c00169
  • Reynolds J.G., M. Dembowski, T.R. Graham, and C.I. Pearce. 2021. "Nitrate and Nitrite Incompatibility with Hydroxide Ions in Concentrated NaOH Solutions: Implications for Hydroxide and Gibbsite Reactivity in Alkaline Nuclear Waste." Fluid Phase Equilibria 532. PNNL-SA-154145. doi:10.1016/j.fluid.2020.112922
  • Zhang H., X. Zhang, T.R. Graham, C.I. Pearce, H. Hlushko, J.A. Laverne, and L. Liu, et al. 2021. "Crystallization and Phase Transformations of Aluminum (Oxy)hydroxide Polymorphs in Caustic Aqueous Solution." Inorganic Chemistry 60, no. 13:9820-9832. PNNL-SA-162038. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c01111

2020

  • Banuelos J.L., M. Lee, M. Nguyen, D. Zhang, D. Malhotra, D. Cantu, and V. Glezakou, et al. 2020. "Subtle Changes in Hydrogen Bond Orientation Result in Glassification of Carbon Capture Solvents." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. PCCP 22, no. 34:19009-19021. PNNL-SA-153262. doi:10.1039/D0CP03503C
  • Dembowski M., M. Snyder, C.H. Delegard, J.G. Reynolds, T.R. Graham, H. Wang, and I.I. Leavy, et al. 2020. "Ion-ion interactions enhance aluminum solubility in alkaline suspensions of nano-gibbsite (a-Al(OH)3) with sodium nitrite/nitrate." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. PCCP 22, no. 8:4368-4378. PNNL-SA-142835. doi:10.1039/C9CP05856G
  • Dembowski M., M.P. Prange, M. Pouvreau, T.R. Graham, M.E. Bowden, A.T. N'Diaye, and G.K. Schenter, et al. 2020. "Inference of Principal Species in Caustic Aluminate Solutions Through Solid-State Spectroscopic Characterization." Dalton Transactions 49, no. 18:5869-5880. PNNL-SA-150681. doi:10.1039/d0dt00229a
  • Dembowski M., T.R. Graham, J.G. Reynolds, S.B. Clark, K.M. Rosso, and C.I. Pearce. 2020. "Influence of soluble oligomeric aluminum on precipitation in the Al-KOH-H2O system." Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics. PCCP 22, no. 42:24677-24685. PNNL-SA-152561. doi:10.1039/d0cp04820h
  • Graham T.R., M. Dembowski, J.Z. Hu, N.R. Jaegers, X. Zhang, S.B. Clark, and C.I. Pearce, et al. 2020. "Intermediate Species in the Crystallization of Sodium Aluminate Hydroxy Hydrates." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 124, no. 23:12337-12345. PNNL-SA-150266. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.0c00205
  • Graham T.R., R.M. Gorniak, M. Dembowski, X. Zhang, S.B. Clark, C.I. Pearce, and A.E. Clark, et al. 2020. "Solid-State Recrystallization Pathways of Sodium Aluminate Hydroxy Hydrates." Inorganic Chemistry 59, no. 10:6857-6865. PNNL-SA-150728. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.0c00258
  • Hammond-Pereira E., K. Bryant, T.R. Graham, C. Yang, S.T. Mergelsberg, D. Wu, and S.R. Saunders. 2020. "Mesoporous silica-encapsulated gold core-shell nanoparticles for active solvent-free benzyl alcohol oxidation." Reaction Chemistry & Engineering 5, no. 10:1939-1949. PNNL-SA-151451. doi:10.1039/D0RE00198H
  • Huestis P.I., T.R. Graham, S.T. Mergelsberg, and J.A. LaVerne. 2020. "Identification of Radiolytically-Active Thermal Transition Phases in Boehmite." Thermochimica Acta 689. PNNL-SA-151694. doi:10.1016/j.tca.2020.178611
  • Krzysko A., E. Nakouzi, X. Zhang, T.R. Graham, K.M. Rosso, G.K. Schenter, and J. Ilavsky, et al. 2020. "Correlating inter-particle forces and particle shape to shear-induced aggregation/fragmentation and rheology for dilute anisotropic particle suspensions: a complementary study via capillary rheometry and in situ small and ultra-small angle X-ray scattering." Journal of Colloid and Interface Science 576. PNNL-SA-148317. doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2020.04.016
  • Placencia-Gomez R.E., S.N. Kerisit, H.S. Mehta, O. Qafoku, C.J. Thompson, T.R. Graham, and E.S. Ilton, et al. 2020. "Critical Water Coverage during Forsterite Carbonation in Thin Water Films: Activating Dissolution and Mass Transport." Environmental Science & Technology 54, no. 11:6888-6899. PNNL-SA-151291. doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c00897
  • Wang S., X. Zhang, T.R. Graham, H. Zhang, C.I. Pearce, Z. Wang, and S.B. Clark, et al. 2020. "Two-Step Route to Size and Shape Controlled Gibbsite Nanoplates and the Crystal Growth Mechanism." CrystEngComm 22, no. 15:2555-2565. PNNL-SA-150680. doi:10.1039/D0CE00114G

2019

  • Graham T.R., J.Z. Hu, X. Zhang, M. Dembowski, N.R. Jaegers, C. Wan, and M.E. Bowden, et al. 2019. "Unraveling Gibbsite Transformation Pathways into LiAl-LDH in Concentrated Lithium Hydroxide." Inorganic Chemistry 58, no. 18:12385-12394. PNNL-SA-138626. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b02000
  • Wang H., T.R. Graham, E. Mamontov, K. Page, A.G. Stack, and C.I. Pearce. 2019. "Countercations Control Local Specific Bonding Interactions and Nucleation Mechanisms in Concentrated Water-in-Salt Solutions." Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 10, no. 12:3318-3325. PNNL-SA-142833. doi:10.1021/acs.jpclett.9b01416

2018

  • Graham T.R., D. Semrouni, E. Mamontov, A.J. Ramirez-Cuesta, K. Page, A.E. Clark, and G.K. Schenter, et al. 2018. "Coupled Multimodal Dynamics of Hydrogen-Containing Ion Networks in Water-Deficient, Sodium-Hydroxide-Aluminate Solutions." Journal of Physical Chemistry B 122, no. 50:12097-12106. PNNL-SA-138723. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b09375
  • Graham T.R., K. Han, M. Dembowski, A. Krzysko, X. Zhang, J.Z. Hu, and S.B. Clark, et al. 2018. "27Al Pulsed Field Gradient, Diffusion-NMR Spectroscopy of Solvation Dynamics and Ion Pairing in Alkaline Aluminate Solutions." Journal of Physical Chemistry B 122, no. 48:10907-10912. PNNL-SA-138291. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b10145
  • Graham T.R., M. Dembowski, E. Martinez Baez, X. Zhang, N.R. Jaegers, J.Z. Hu, and M.S. Gruszkiewicz, et al. 2018. "In-Situ 27Al NMR Spectroscopy of Aluminate in Sodium Hydroxide Solutions Above and Below Saturation with Respect to Gibbsite." Inorganic Chemistry 57, no. 19:11864-11873. PNNL-SA-132754. doi:10.1021/acs.inorgchem.8b00617
  • Nakouzi E., J.A. Soltis, B.A. Legg, G.K. Schenter, X. Zhang, T.R. Graham, and K.M. Rosso, et al. 2018. "Impact of Solution Chemistry and Particle Anisotropy on the Collective Dynamics of Oriented Aggregation." ACS Nano 12, no. 10:10114-10122. PNNL-SA-132757. doi:10.1021/acsnano.8b04909
  • Zhang X., P.I. Huestis, C.I. Pearce, J.Z. Hu, K. Page, L.M. Anovitz, and A. Aleksandrov, et al. 2018. "Boehmite and Gibbsite Nanoplates for the Synthesis of Advanced Alumina Products." ACS Applied Nano Materials 1, no. 12:7115-7128. PNNL-SA-139693. doi:10.1021/acsanm.8b01969
  • Zhang X., W. Cui, K. Page, C.I. Pearce, M.E. Bowden, T.R. Graham, and Z. Shen, et al. 2018. "Size and Morphology Controlled Synthesis of Boehmite Nanoplates and Crystal Growth Mechanisms." Crystal Growth & Design 18, no. 6:3596-3606. PNNL-SA-132799. doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.8b00394

2017

  • Hu J.Z., X. Zhang, N.R. Jaegers, C. Wan, T.R. Graham, M.Y. Hu, and C.I. Pearce, et al. 2017. "Transitions in Al Coordination During Gibbsite Crystallization Using High-Field 27Al and 23Na MAS NMR Spectroscopy." Journal of Physical Chemistry C 121, no. 49:27555-27565. PNNL-SA-130259. doi:10.1021/acs.jpcc.7b10424
  • Zhang X., X. Zhang, T.R. Graham, C.I. Pearce, B.L. Mehdi, A.T. N'Diaye, and S.N. Kerisit, et al. 2017. "Fast Synthesis of Gibbsite Nanoplates and Process Optimization using Box-Behnken Experimental Design." Crystal Growth & Design 17, no. 12:6801-6808. PNNL-SA-129361. doi:10.1021/acs.cgd.7b01400