This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program will assist the Department of Chemistry at Washington University to purchase a 300 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas such as the following: (1) the synthesis of complex organic molecules, (2) the use of combinatorial technology in the development of new ligands for transition metal catalyzed asymmetric reactions, (3) organometallic solution-liquid -solid growth of ternary III-V semiconductor nanowhiskers, (4) the molecular design of silylenes, (5) the identification and preparation of pure site-specific photoproduct-containing DNA, and (6) synthetic polymer chemistry. 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.
