With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Acquisition Program, the Department of Chemistry at the University of Wyoming will acquire a single crystal X-ray diffractometer. The diffractometer will be used in the structural characterization of inorganic and macromolecular enzyme models, fluoroalkylphosphine complexes that are potential hydrogenation catalysts, and linear oligometallic complexes for photophysics studies. Other uses are in the areas of silk fiber structure analysis, carbohydrate and natural product synthesis, surfactant synthesis, and polypeptide folding dynamics.
The X-ray diffractometer allows the determination of accurate and precise bond distances and angles between atoms in a molecule. It essentially maps out the three dimensional structure of a molecule, and the spatial arrangement of the molecule relative to the neighboring molecules. The composition of a solid material is fully described by analyzing the diffraction pattern. This equipment will allow the University of Wyoming to better train students across the chemical sciences at both the undergraduate and graduate levels with a modern diffractometer system and software.
