With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Multiuser Instrumentation (CRIF-MU) Program, the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame will purchase a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas including 1) synthesis and characterization of clusters containing metals/semimetals in negative oxidation states; 2) supramolecular synthesis using s-bock metal ring and cage complexes 3) development of novel Group-2-organometallic reagents; 4) synthesis and biosynthesis of natural products as well as new reactions in organic synthesis; and 5) self-assembly of molecular probes for biomembranes.
Mass spectrometry (MS) is a technique used to probe intimate structural details and to obtain the molecular compositions of a vast array of organic, bioorganic, and organometallic molecules. It is one of the fastest growing and most widely used analytical instrumentation techniques. Because of this, it is important for undergraduate and graduate students to be exposed to the technique. Graduate students and undergraduate students will undergo training to use this instrument for "hands-on" operation in accordance with the open-access policy of the department's mass spectrometry facility, where this instrument will be housed.
