Bohak Yoon

Postdoctoral Scholar
Department of Chemistry
The University of Chicago
bohakyoon@uchicago.edu

Bohak received his B.S. and Ph.D. in 2016 and 2022, respectively, both in Chemical Engineering. During his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin, he worked on first-principles studies on thermal and oxidative degradation and corrosion of aqueous amine solvents for carbon dioxide capture using ab initio molecular dynamics with advanced sampling methods. Bohak joined the Voth group as a postdoctoral scholar in July 2022. His research interests are in the multiscale theory and simulation of ionic liquids and other aqueous systems pertinent to alternative energy, new materials, and separations.   

1. Yoon, B.; Stowe, H.M.; Hwang, G.S. “Molecular Mechanisms for Thermal Degradation of CO2-Loaded Aqueous Monoethanolamine: A First-Principles Study.” Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2019, 21, 22132-22139. DOI: 10.1039/C9CP04518J

2. Yoon, B.; Hwang, G.S. “On the Mechanism of Predominant Urea Formation from Thermal Degradation of CO2-Loaded Aqueous Ethylenediamine.” Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2020, 22, 17336-17343. DOI: 10.1039/D0CP02178D

3. Yoon, B.; Hwang, G.S. “Anomalous Facile Carbamate Formation at High Stripping Temperatures from Carbon Dioxide Reaction with 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol in Aqueous Solution.” ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 8, 18671-18677. DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c07203

4. Yoon, B.; Hwang, G.S. “First-Principles Assessment of Anomalous Thermal Degradation of Aqueous 2-Amino-2-methyl-1-propanol for CO2 Capture.” Energy Fuels. 2021, 35, 16705-16712. DOI: 10.1021/acs.energyfuels.1c02361

5. Yoon, B.; Hwang, G.S. “Facile Carbamic Acid Intermediate Formation in Aqueous Monoethanolamine and its Vital Role in CO2 Capture Processes.” Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2022, 61, 4475-4479DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.1c04987

6. Luo, Q.; Dong, R.; Yoon, B.; Gao, H.; Chen, M.; Hwang, G.S.; Liang, Z. “An Experimental/Computational Study of Steric Hindrance Effects on CO2 Absorption in (Non)Aqueous Amine Solutions.” AIChE J. 2022, e17701. ( co-first author). DOI: 10.1002/aic.17701

7. Luo, Q.; Yoon, B.; Gao, H.; Lv, J.; Hwang, G.S.; Xiao, M.; Liang, Z. “Combined Experimental and Computational Study on the Promising Monoethanolamine+2-(Ethylamino)ethanol+Sulfolane Biphasic Aqueous Solution for CO2 Absorption.” Chemical Engineering Journal. 2022, 49, 136674. ( co-first author). DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2022.136674

8. Yoon, B.; Hwang, G.S. “Intriguing Thermal Degradation Behavior of Aqueous Piperazine for Carbon Dioxide Capture: A First-Principles Assessment.” ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2022, In-pressDOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c02502

9. Zhang, W.; Fang, S.; Su, H.; Hao, W.; Yoon, B.; Hwang, G.S.; Cheng, C.; Zhu, Y.; Hu, Y.H. “Water-Superstructured Solid Fuel Cells.” SubmittedarXiv: 2110.15126

10. Luo, Q.; Gao, H.; Wang, N.; Li, Y.; Hong, S.; Hwang, G.S.; Yoon, B.; Liang, Z. “Development of A Monoethanolamine/n-Butanol Biphasic Solution with Tunable Phase Separation for CO2 Absorption via Combined Experimental and Computational Study: Role of Solvation Environment, Phase Separation Mechanism.” Submitted.

11. Yoon, B.; Calabro, D.C.; Saunders, L.; Raman, S.; Hwang, G.S. “Probing Strong Steric Hindrance Effects in Aqueous Alkanolamines for CO2 Capture from First Principles.” Submitted.