wWith this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Multi User program (CRIF:MU), the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Maryland will acquire a single crystal X-ray diffractometer. It will be utilized in research projects including 1) amidinate-based catalysts for living Ziegler-Natta polymerization 2) dirhodium catalyst 3) hydrocarbon activation catalysts 4) bimetallic nanoparticles from binary clusters 5) cucurbit[n]urils macrocycles and 6) self-assembled ionophores. The requested diffractometer will be housed in the University of Maryland's X-Ray Crystallographic Center. Catholic University, a Primarily Undergraduate Institution(PUI) and Howard University, a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) will have access to the proposed X-ray facility via collaborative agreements.
The technique of single-crystal X-ray crystallography allows accurate and precise determination 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 the neighboring molecules. These studies will have an impact in a number of areas, especially synthetic chemistry. .
