With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Departmental Multi-User Instrumentation (CRIF:MU) Program, the Department of Chemistry at the University of Rochester will acquire a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC/MS). This equipment will support research in a number of areas including the synthesis of natural products, development of photoresponsive polymers and organic electroluminescent materials, and studies of catalyts and catalytic mechanisms. The proposed MS instrumentation will support for the education and training of more than 60% of the 80 graduate and 30 postdoctoral students in the Chemistry Department. In addition, the instrument will support the collaborative academic/industrial research of two NSF GOALI projects. The equipment will also be used by undergraduate students and high school teachers, including those from underrepresented groups, which are supported as summer-research visitors in the Chemistry Department's NSF REU/RET site.
Gas chromatograph with mass spectrometric detection (GC/MS) is an extremely powerful technique for the separation and analysis of complex mixtures and is a workhorse method for a wide range of chemical research projects. It allows high-resolution separation of the components of complex mixtures and provides simultaneous structural information to help identify the individual components.
