With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Departmental Multi-User Instrumentation (CRIF:MU) Program, the Department of Chemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) will acquire an X-ray diffractometer with CCD detector and low-temperature system. This instrument will support a large variety of research projects, including: supramolecular approaches to novel materials and processes; metal-catalyzed polymerization; metal-mediated organic transformations; and new catalysts for the cation-olefin cyclization, enantioselective domino reactions, and natural product synthesis. The instrument will be used by a large number of users in the Chemistry Department as well as other programs such as Environmental Sciences and the School of Pharmacy. Similarly, the instrument will impact the research training of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from many disciplines at UNC-CH.
The X-ray diffractometer allows accurate and precise measurements of the full three dimensional structure of a molecule, including bond distances and angles, and it provides accurate information about the spatial arrangement of the molecule relative to neighboring molecules. These studies will have an impact in a number of areas, especially synthesis of important organic and inorganic chemicals and polymeric materials.
