This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program and the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program will enable the School of Chemistry at Clark University to acquire a 400 MHz solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectrometer. This will enhance faculty research in a number of areas including studies on 1) the state of gases in synthetic membrane and nanoporous materials by xenon-129 NMR; 2) translational diffusion in polymeric systems; 3) structure and dynamics in polymers using magic angle sample spinning experiments; and 4) one and two-dimensional solid state line shape studies of reorientational dynamics. 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.
