Chemistry

Mentor: T. Bender

REU参与者将学习如何执行无空气操作技术来合成新的有机金属催化剂来进行碳氢键激活. 将研究含有多种金属的催化剂，目的是制备一种能够模拟酶电场对反应性影响的均相催化剂. REU的学生将学习使用最先进的手套箱和施伦克线技术，这些技术允许化学家在没有空气的情况下进行反应，因为空气会污染催化剂中使用的稀有金属. In addition, REU的学生将学习如何识别和表征有机金属催化剂使用各种光谱技术，如核磁共振(NMR)。, 红外光谱学, 质谱法, 和x射线晶体学.

Mentor: K. Lambert

REU的参与者将接受湿化学技术的培训，以开发“绿色”催化剂，作为温和金属的可持续替代品, 无害环境的氧化. These new synthetic methods have applications to natural product synthesis and the development of new pharmaceuticals and medicines. The REU student will be exposed to a diverse set of synthetic organic chemistry techniques including: rational reaction design; setting up organic reactions; purification techniques (distillation, 闪光色谱法, high performance liquid chromatography); and characterization of the products (NMR spectroscopy, 红外光谱, polarimetry, 和高分辨率质谱).

Mentor: B. Ramjee

The REU student will explore new solvent media for photopolymerization to obtain morphologically distinct polymeric architectures, 迄今为止通过其他方式无法到达. In doing so, 参与者将合成具有工程反应活性的RTATT单体，并监测噻吩光聚合动力学. The participant will gain experience with multistep organic synthesis, polymerization techniques and a battery of analytical tools like NMR, IR, MS, UV-VIS, HPLC, SEC, TGA, TEM, and SEM.

Mentor: J. Cooper

REU participants will use chemometric techniques to create a model for predicting the country of origin of fuel samples. Vibrational spectra of the fuels will be collected on diamond-stage ATR instruments. 参与者还将获得SERS和其他分析方法以及解决问题的数据分析方法的经验.

Mentor: P. Hatcher

REU参与者将接触到正在进行的现场和实验室研究，并获得最先进的分析和提取技术的第一手经验, 包括多维核磁共振, GC-MS, FTIR, and FT ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. 他们将确定溶解和沉积有机质的性质，并评估与这些有机质由陆生木质素或木质材料燃烧残留物转化形成的方式相关的化学性质. 研究将在经过验证的实验装置中以小规模进行，以确保成功的数据生成和本科生的积极科学研究体验.

Mentor: A. Holder

REU学生将探索基于超分子混合金属配合物的光催化制氢的动力学和机理研究. We will explore diimine-dioxime and polypyridines as ligands, along with a novel phosphine-based moiety as a bridging ligand, to ensure stability in acidic and weakly basic aqueous media. The REU student will also assist in the synthesis and characterization of ligands and complexes, and will be involved in the use of spectroscopy to elucidate the structures of each compound. The REU student will learn how to acquire electrochemical, NMR, and EPR spectroscopic data.

Mentor: C. Bayse

REU的参与者将使用高性能的计算方法来研究与蛋白质科学相关的化学问题或开发新的高能材料. Participants will learn the basics of running calculations using computational chemistry software on LINUX-based clusters, building and analyzing computational data though graphical-user interfaces, and interpreting theoretical results in terms of experimental data.

Mentor: J. Lee

REU participants will be exposed to ongoing biochar research at ODU, including firsthand experience with laboratory experiments on biochar production, 氧等离子体处理, 以及产品特性. These would include measuring biochar cation exchange capacity, assessing biochar water holding field capacity, 测定生物炭的pH值, and analyzing potential biochar toxins with bioassays.

Mentor: J. Mao

The REU student will learn wet chemical methods for analyzing the structure and properties of organic molecules used in solar cells, a range of advanced techniques in NMR spectroscopy, and will gain an appreciation for applying analytical techniques to the characterization of complex substances.

Mentor: G. Wang

REU参与者的研究将集中在一系列d -葡萄糖和d -氨基葡萄糖衍生物的合成和分析它们的自组装特性. They can also be used to study the controlled release drug delivery profiles. 通过这个跨学科的REU项目, 学生将学习基本的有机合成技术，包括建立有机反应和手性化合物的表征. Depending on the individual students' interests, they can also participate in the study of their biological applications. Our lab is equipped with essential instruments for organic synthesis and characterization, including microwave synthesizer and automatic flash chromatograph systems. The participating students will learn synthetic techniques and to use analytical tools, 包括核磁共振波谱和LCMS, 用于化合物鉴定.

Mentor: J. Poutsma

REU学生将学习这些反应的机理，并使用从头计算来研究不同反应的基础. Initial calculations on both the classic and intramolecular Schmidt reactions suggest that solvents should have a large effect on this reaction; therefore, the effect of various implicit solvation methods on the energetics of the reaction will be investigated. 特别是, 该REU学生将在MP2/6-31G(d)理论水平上应用CPCM方法在不同介电常数下的经典Schmidt反应和丙酮加乙基叠氮化物反应. 从这些研究中, REU的学生将学习如何正确地应用计算方法来解决无法通过直接实验研究的问题.

Mentor: S. Pagola

REU参与者将研究导致有机共晶(如药物共晶)形成的固态机械化学反应, 药物之间co-crystals, 和有机电荷转移配合物). Mechanochemical reactions can occur by grinding powders of the organic reactants together with small quantities of liquids. The potential formation of co-crystals between pairs of organic solids with different functional groups (e.g., acids and bases) will be assessed from information in the Cambridge Structural Database and its software, pKa计算和文献检索. The REU student will collect and analyze data of various solid-state techniques (e.g., 傅立叶变换红外光谱, 熔点测定, 元素分析, 光学显微镜, 热重量分析法, synchrotron and laboratory X-ray powder diffraction, etc.) toward understanding the solid-state reactions and the products obtained.