About Us
Nalbandyan Institute of Chemical Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
Chemical physics has been developing in Armenia as an independent scientific direction since
1960, when the Laboratory of Chemical Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR
was founded in Yerevan on the initiative prof. A.B. Nalbandyan and with full support of the Nobel
Prize winner academician N.N. Semenov. In 1975 the Laboratory was reorganized into the Institute
of Chemical Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (IChPh of AS Arm.SSR). In
1993 the Institute was named after academician A.B. Nalbandyan, the founder and permanent
director from 1960 to 1987.
From the first days of foundation, the Institute has been conducting intensive and effective
research on the theory of chemical transformation, kinetics, and the mechanism of chain,
free-radical reactions, including combustion and ignition processes in the gas and condensed
phases. The practical direction of these investigations covers the problems of processing
hydrocarbons and natural mineral raw materials into valuable products, combustion processes
with the participation of solid components: self-propagating high-temperature synthesis
(SHS) or combustion synthesis (CS) aimed at the production of refractory inorganic compounds,
discovered by prof. A.G. Merzhanov. Scientific developments of the leading scientists of the
institute and their effective application were adequately appreciated by the government
of Armenia. In 1977 A.B. Nalbandyan and A.A.Mantashyan became laureate of the State Prize
of Armenia for a series of studies “Elementary processes in slow gas-phase reactions”,
and in 1980 the same prize was awarded to A.B. Nalbandyan, A.G. Merzhanov and a number
of leading scientists of the Institute for the Manufacturing application of advanced
SHS technology for the production of molybdenum disilicide at a plant for the production
of high-temperature heaters in Kirovakan (Armenia).
Thanks to the development of own original methods and approaches the IChPh of AS
Arm.SSR has occupied and now occupies a worthy place among well-known research
centers. Using the kinetic method of radical freezing in combination with EPR
spectroscopy developed at the Institute (A.B.Nalbandyan, A.A. Mantashyan et al.),
for the first time chain carriers, peroxyl radicals, were directly detected in\
degenerate branched chain gas-phase oxidation reactions. The results obtained
enabled to confirm the basic principles of the theory of degenerate-branched
chain reactions at the free-radical level, to observe new phenomena associated
with the oxidation mechanism of paraffinic and olefinic hydrocarbons.
In heterogeneous catalytic reactions for the first time free radicals were
detected in the gas phase and their participation in these processes has
been evaluated.
The chain nature of cold flames has been established and methods have
been developed for the selective obtaining of olefins and their oxygen
derivatives. It is shown that free radicals formed during the
decomposition of peroxides (oxidation products of organic substances)
on the surface of chemical reactors pass into the volume, causing
ranching of the reaction chains of gas-phase oxidation of organic
compounds.
By this process, low-temperature ignition of gaseous reaction
mixtures was interpreted. To study the elementary reactions of
free radicals in the liquid phase, as well as to reveal the
antioxidant properties of various compounds, a new kinetic method
using EPR has been developed and applied. Тo increase the yield
and selectivity of the resulting target products in the oxidation
processes, a new type of biomimetic catalyst based on metal complex
compounds of nitrogen-containing coals has been synthesized
(L.A. Tavadyan).
In the area of modeling and kinetic analysis of complex (multistep)
chemical reactions, on the basis of the Hamiltonian formalism,
a new numerical value method and an appropriate software package
have been developed that allow estimating the contribution of
elementary reactions and components, identifying the critical
states of reaction systems, and predicting ways to effectively
control them (L.A. Tavadyan). These studies have been
summarized in monographs published in 2005 (Л.А. Тавадян,
Г.А. Мартоян.
“Анализ кинетически моделей химических реакционных систем.
Ценностный подход”, Ереван, Гитутюн, 248 c.) and in 2014
(L.A. Tavadyan, G.A.Martoyan. “Analysis of Kinetic Models
of Chemical Reaction Systems”.Value Approach, New York,
Nova Publishers Inc., 2014, 223 p.).
New effective catalysts for various practically important chemical
reactions have been obtained based on nanosized powders of a number
of transition metals and their compounds. Methods for the synthesis
and activation of these catalysts by the action of ultrasound,
microwave radiation, and other physicochemical factors have
been proposed.
Since 1972 in the Institute studies have been carried
out in the field of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis (SHS)
of refractory inorganic compounds and composite materials, which are
of practical importance. In 1980 by the decision of the Armenian
government, a special design bureau for refractory materials (SDB RM)
was established at the Institute, in which SHS production (from tens
of kilograms to several tons) of more than 15 types of chemicals
and composite materials was organized. These materials were produced
mainly by order of large research and production organizations and
enterprises of the military-industrial complex of the former USSR.
The synthesis of transition metal hydrides during the combustion
of the initial metal powders in the hydrogen atmosphere was carried
out for the first time at the IChPh of AS Arm.SSR.A wide range of
binary and complex hydrides has been obtained, which have practical
value (S.K. Dolukhanyan). Refractory carbides nitrides, silicides,
borides, and composite materials on their basis have been
synthesized, and mechanisms for the formation of these compounds
were proposed. A new approach has been proposed for stimulating SHS
processes using various polymeric, and organic compounds as
combustion promoters (S.L. Kharatyan, H.H. Nersisyan).
To study the kinetics of fast solid-phase chemical transformations
under isothermal and non-isothermal conditions at high temperatures,
unique electrothermographic devices of a new generation with the
wide functional capability of electronic control and with appropriate
software in the Windows environment has been developed and constructed:
(i) high-speed scanning electrothermograph (HS-SET-3) with the
possibility of controlled heating of a thin metallic wire at
a rate of up to 10 6 K/s and (ii) the high-speed temperature
scanner (HSTS-2) with a controlled heating rate of powder mixtures
up to 10 4 K/min (A.G. Zargaryan, S.L. Kharatyan).
The IChPh of NAS RA closely cooperates with several leading
universities of Armenia:Yerevan State University (YSU), National
Polytechnic University of Armenia (NPUA), Russian-Armenian (Slavonic)
University, State Pedagogical University of Armenia (SPUA), as
well as with many research organizations and companies.
Leading scientists of the Institute are lecturing at the
universities listed, and many students from these universities
are involved in the research work of the Institute. Thanks to
such cooperation the Institute gets the opportunity to solve
one of the current challenges: replenishment of the scientific
team with young specialists.The Institute constantly trains highly
qualified scientists, many of whom work in various research,
educational, and commercial organizations both in Armenia and abroad.
The Institute permanently turns out highly qualified scientists,
many of whom are working in research, educational, and commercial
organizations both in Armenia and abroad. Over the past 60
years twelve scientists of the institute became doctors of science,
including three academicians and one corresponding member of the
NAS RA, and more than eighty became candidates of science. At
present, scientific research of the Institute in various fields
of chemical physics, combustion, catalysis, materials science,
biochemistry, etc. is carried out in six laboratories and eight
research groups that involve 81 researchers. Over twenty former
employees of the IChPh of NAS RA currently work in scientific
centers and companies in the USA, Russia, Italy, France, the
Republic of Korea, Canada, and Finland. In cooperation with
colleagues from various scientific organizations and
countries, the scientists of the IChPh of NAS RA published 17
monographs, more than 1600 scientific articles, one invention
(L.A. Tavadyan with colleagues is the author of the discovery
of USSR No. 338,1987), received 9 patents (Armenia - 6,
Russia - 1, France - 1, Eurasian - 1), 77 copyright certificates
(Armenia - 7, USSR - 70), and more than 25 international grants
were implemented (ISTC -3, INTAS - 2, COPERNICUS - 1, CRDF - 1,
CNRS - 1, NFSAT-CRDF - 3, ANSEF - 4, PMI - 2,etc.). More than 20
international conferences and workshops have been organized.
In 2011-2018 with the financial support of the Science Committee
of RA the Institute has developed technologies and organized
pilot production of new innovative products: highly effective
and environmentally friendly disinfectant " Bioxil-2"
based on active oxygen and the rust converter.
The ICP NAS RA maintains close cooperation with many scientific
centers and organizations in Russia, USA, Germany, France,
Belgium, Slovenia, Czech Republic,Spain, China, Belarus, Estonia,
Republic of Korea, United Arab Emirates and other countries.