This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program will assist the Department of Chemistry at Syracuse University to upgrade two high resolution, 300 MHz and 500 MHz, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas such as the following: (1) Isotope labeling of hydrocarbons for study of organic reaction mechanisms, (2) the study of RNA and DNA structure and dynamics, (3) the preparation of intermediates for the synthesis of macrolides and other natural products, (4) the synthesis, structure determination and reactivity of organo alkaline earth derivatives, (5) the synthesis of boron cluster compounds, and (6) the preparation of oxovanadium and oxomolybdenum compounds.
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.