With this renewal award the Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry Program supports the work of Dr. Kevin S. Peters at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The research aims to understand the influences of driving force, solvent, temperature, and deuterium isotope substitution on the kinetics and mechanism of proton transfer in solution, using a picosecond absorption spectrometer developed under a prior grant. The molecules used in this study will include derivatives of 2-(N-methyl-amino)-alpha-acetophenone and 2-(anilinomethyl)-benzophenone. The findings will be examined considering two recently developed theories which view proton transfer as occurring exclusively through a tunneling process controlled by solvent fluctuations.
Proton transfer plays a role in many organic and biochemical reactions. The work that Dr. Peters proposes to do should provide valuable insights into the detailed mechanisms of this important class of reactions.
