With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) and Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Programs, the Department of Chemistry at the University of Akron will acquire an upgrade of an existing 300 MHz Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectrometer. This equipment will enhance research in the following areas: preparation and characterization of main-group and transition metal complexes with heterocyclynes; preparation, characterization and study of physical properties of dendrimer structures; conducting polymers; studies of enzyme mechanisms and protein modification; development of advanced multidimensional NMR for polymer characterization; and the study of three-dimensional structures of ordered polymers in solution.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy is the most powerful tool available to chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and to study the dynamics of interactions between molecules in solution. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometry is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies are useful in the areas such as polymers, catalysis, and in biology.
