MRI: Acquisition of High-Field NMR Instrumentation for the Colorado School of Mines with Outreach to the Denver Metro Region

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This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Daniel M. Knauss and colleagues Stephen G. Boyes, Steven F. Dec, Andrew M. Herring and Carolyn A. Koh from the Colorado School of Mines (CSM) will acquire a 500 MHz NMR spectrometer for use with liquids, a pulsed-field diffusion probe and a new console to upgrade a 400 MHz spectrometer for solids. The suite of instruments will support research targeted towards renewable/alternative energy and materials such as 1) hydrogen fuel cells, 2) synthesis and characterization of organic compounds and polymers, 3) studies of gas hydrates, 4) polymer modified nanostructures to use in electronic devices, 5) mechanistic pathways of chemical transport in membranes, and 6) preparation of plastics from bio-components. It is noted that the instrumentation will be available to faculty members in Chemistry and Chemical Engineering and that there will be collaborative research and educational projects with higher educational institutions and national laboratories in the Denver Metro Region, including the University of Colorado at Denver, Red Rocks Community College, Metropolitan State College of Denver, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools available to chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, to characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and to study the dynamics of interactions between molecules in solutions and in solids. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies will have an impact in chemistry, materials research and renewable/alternative energy. These instruments will be an integral part of teaching as well as research.