Upgrade of a 300 MHz NMR Spectrometer for Research and Teaching

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities:Multiuser program (CRIF:MU), the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology at the University of New Mexico will upgrade the console of a 300 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer that will be used for solids and solution analyses. It will be employed in research projects that span many areas of chemistry including, a) the development of reliable protocols for the assessment of structure and bonding in high-spin Co(II) systems; b) the discovery of new catalytic reactions and efficient assembly of diverse and medicinally important chemical structures; c) investigation of Donor-Bridge-Acceptor systems as potential components of molecular wire devices; d) development of novel synthetic methods for biomedically interesting targets; e) understanding the mechanism of carbon dioxide reacting with main group amides to generate organic isocyanates; f) characterization of early stage molecular precursor chemistry for the development of new families of "doped" materials that become novel gas adsorbents, once converted to solid-state forms; g) strategies for the rational design of inhibitors for enzymes connected to diseases; h) characterization of carbon fibers used in cathodes of high power microwave sources with potential military applications; and i) characterization of bacterial communities in cave pools and their role in formation of caverns.Multinuclear NMR spectroscopy is an essential tool in modern chemical research. NMR spectra enable researchers to identify reaction products including targeted substances, reaction intermediates and unexpected products. Structural information, i.e. information on the connectivity of the atoms in molecules and materials is obtained by detecting transitions between energy levels arising from the nuclear spin properties of atoms. The instruments will be used to support research projects of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers, including traditionally underrepresented minority groups that make up approximately half of the enrollment at the university.