University Park This award from the Academic Research Infrastructure (ARI) Program will assist the Department of Chemistry at the Pennsylvania State University (PSU) acquire a widebore 500 MHz NMR spectrometer. This equipment will enhance the solid-state chemistry and materials science research at PSU in a number of areas including the following: (1) synthesis and applications of novel boron-containing polymers (2) design, synthesis and characterization of microporous, mesoporous, and macroporous materials (3) atomic connectivity and local structure in a variety of lamellar and microporous materials (4) amorphous alkali phosphates and aluminophosphates, crystalline zeolites and aluminophosphates and solid-state biomolecules (5) amorphous materials and surfaces (6) characterization of catalytic materials, and (7) elucidation of mechanisms and intermediates in catalytic systems Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is the most powerful tool available to chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and to study the dynamics of interactions between molecules in solution. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometry is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies are useful in the areas such as polymers, catalysis, and in biology.
