This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program will help the Department of Chemistry at West Virginia University purchase an automated single-crystal diffractometer. Among the areas of chemical research that will be enhanced are the following: 1) synthesis of new enediyne compounds, 2) synthesis and reactivity studies of stabilized metalla- cyclobutadienes and 3) model studies of hydroporphyrin containing enzymes. Single crystal x-ray crystallography is the most powerful analytical method for structures determination of solids. In synthetic inorganic, organic, bioinorganic and organometallic chemistry, single crystal x-ray diffraction is an invaluable tool to characterize molecular structure. The information gained from the knowledge of the molecular composition and structure helps to develop new reactions of potentially general interest in catalysis or synthesis.
