South Africa Cooperative Research: Oxidation Mechanisms, Effect of pH and Probing of Possible Metal Ion Catalysis in the Reactions of Organosulfur Compounds

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This award funds a two-year international cooperative research investigation on organosulfur chemistry, with a particular focus on oxidation mechanisms, effect of pH, and metal ion catalysis. The collaboration brings the environmental chemistry expertise of Sreekantha Jonnalagadda, from the University of Durban-Westville, South Africa, on the role of sulfur in water, soil and atmospheric chemistry, together with that of Reuben Simoyi's expertise on sulfur compounds in inorganic and model biological systems. The collaborators will undertake a series of experiments to elucidate these chemical reactions using potentiometry, turbidimetry, stopped flow, and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance, and computer simulation techniques. The project will strengthen US-South African collaborations and would provide international research experience for one graduate student and two undergraduates from the U.S. and for one South African student. The scientific results of the project are likely to be of value because information on the oxidation states of sulfur is frustratingly sparse, in spite of the pivotal role that this element plays in environmental and biological systems; more specifically the environmental chemistry results may help mitigate environmental pollution associated with mining activities in the U.S. and in Africa, while the biological investigations that address the balance between the therapeutic vs. toxic potential of thiols may contribute to our understanding of human health. This award is co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering and the Division of Chemistry.