In this Faculty Early Career Development Award funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program in the Chemistry Division, Phillip Grandinetti of Ohio State University will apply recently developed two dimensional NMR techniques and Dynamic Angle Spinning to characterize structures in silicate glasses. Structural distributions in alkali and alkaline network modified silicate glasses will also be studied to quantify changes in angle distributions, non-bridging oxygen environments, and silicate species distributions as functions of composition. This information will be used to refine potential functions used in molecular dynamics simulation studies of the structure and dynamics of glasses. The educational component of this program will focus on improving faculty-student contact in the general chemistry course, using a database to help instructors identify students with difficulties and implement strategies for improvement, and developing new courses in NMR and Data Acquisition and Analysis. The design and preparation of glasses is made difficult by the lack of sound theoretical models relating composition and structure to properties. Professor Grandinetti will use NMR techniques to provide experimental structural data which can confirm the basis of theoretical models and improve their predictive capabilities. Such information will also be of value in NMR studies of related systems such as ceramics, catalysts, and biopolymers.
