The Oak Crest Institute of Science will acquire a gas chromatograph mass spectrometer (GC-MS) with this award from the Major Research Instrumentation program. The GC-MS will enable researchers at Oak Crest to conduct studies on: (a) Ni(0)-mediated chemical fixation of CO2 in highly functionalized heterocycles; (b) the synthesis of high-valent Mn(imido) complexes; (c) the design, preparation, and evaluation of molecular probes to detect a range of analytes in the environment; (d) the emission of environmental pollutants in vehicle exhaust; (e) the pyrolysis mechanism of organic lubricants commonly used in materials science; (f) new materials for drug formulation and delivery; (g) new biocatalysts for the enantioselective preparation of chiral sulfoxides; and (h) the nature and composition of atmospheric aerosols.
Mass spectroscopy is a basic tool used by chemists to identify and characterize materials and chemical species by accurate measurement of their mass and fragmentation patterns as they are vaporized and ionized in the instrument. Gas chromatography is an isolation technique that separates a complex mixture of volatile material into individual components before introduced to the mass spectrometer. This acquisition will be used hands-on by undergraduate students in research projects. The students are recruited from nearby institutions. Faculty at local institutions and high schools also will have use of the mass spectrometer.
