With this GOALI award, the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division and the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities supports the work of Dr. Hilkka I. Kenttamaa of the Department of Chemistry at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana and Dr. David Aaserud of the Lubrizol Corporation. A high-risk/high-gain research project involving Purdue University and Lubrizol Corporation is proposed for the study of optoacoustic desorption as a means to evaporate neutral molecules into mass spectrometers. The goal is to determine whether the combination of laser-induced acoustic desorption (LIAD) with gas-phase ion-molecule reactions involving mass-selected reagent ions provides benefits in mass spectrometric characterization of thermally labile and/or nonvolatile molecules. Preliminary experiments confirm the feasibility of the concept, demonstrate high predictability and reproducibility, and suggest some intriguing possibilities. For example, the ability to bring neutral (not ionic) nonvolatile and/or thermally labile molecules into the gas phase would allow a variety of fundamental thermochemical, structural and reactivity studies that currently cannot be carried out. Further, this simple approach may provide an attractive complement to MALDI in qualitative analysis. A matrix should not be necessary, which may lead to better predictability. The physical separation of the evaporation and ionization events should permit the use of many different types of ionization reactions, thus providing control over reaction products and thermochemistry, and access to a variety of information for a given analyte. Finally, this approach should allow mass spectrometric characterization of some compounds that are currently not amenable to such analysis.
Dr. David Aaserud, the Co-PI on the award, will commit 5-10% of his time and resources to the proposed work where he will jointly advise participating graduate students and provide polymer characterization expertise to the project. Interaction will include monthly progress reviews and the supervision of one or two doctoral students during work at Lubrizol. The students will be exposed to Lubrizol's analytical capabilities and to an industrial environment. Lubrizol will provide relevant samples and access to any appropriate additional analytical information, including GPC, LC, and NMR data. In the technology transfer stage, the laboratories at Lubrizol will be accessible for applications of the new technologies to industrial samples. The Lubrizol Corporation has provided financial support to graduate students and research projects in Professor Kenttamaa's laboratory over several years. Lubrizol is committed to continue this funding as part or their cost sharing. Lubrizol views the collaborative effort as a continuation of its interaction with Professor Kenttamaa's group with a significant increase in the commitment of resources.
The proposed research is at the frontiers of mass spectrometry in studies of the selective transfer of molecules from the solid phase to the gas phase. Lubrizol's interest in derivatized polyalphaolefins arises from the fact that these substances are important components of many lubricant additives. The development of new and better methods to characterize hydrocarbon polymers and their functionalized derivatives will allow a better understanding of these materials and help Lubrizol to better predict product performance. With the support of the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program and the MPS Office of Multidisciplinary Activities, the PI is able to perform potentially ground-breaking research as well as work with an industrial partner to explore real-world applications of the research. Professor Kenttamaa has a large group of undergraduate and graduate students who are female or from underrepresented groups. For them the research is expected to provide a valuable educational experience.
