MRI: Acquisition of an Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) Spectrometer for Research and Education in Chemistry and Physics

得克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校的Luis Echegoyen教授和他的同事Juan Noveron、Michael Eastman、Cristian Botez和Dino Villagran将获得这项来自主要研究仪器(MRI)项目的奖项，他们将获得一台电子顺磁共振(EPR)光谱仪。该建议旨在加强各级的研究、培训和教育，特别是在下列领域：(A)合成和采样面内金属富勒烯及其衍生物的最高占据和最低未占据分子轨道(HOMO和LUMO)；(B)与双钼双金属单元平行的质子耦合电子转移；(C)了解Ru2(5+)二聚体的电子结构；(D)金属-有机超分子纳米材料中顺磁中心的配位化学；(E)氰化物聚合物；以及(F)金属氧化物纳米粒子团的磁性行为。EPR光谱仪检测电子，更具体地说，是激发电子到更高量子化能态所需的能量。当分光计在外加磁场的存在下提供翻转未成对电子的自旋所需的能量时，就会发生这种情况。这些信息提供了对正在研究的材料的电子结构和成键的洞察，可以用来了解其性质以及如何使用或改进它。这台光谱仪将为教职员工和研究人员提供学院目前没有的现代仪器，大大推进了他们的研究项目。它将用于本科实验室课程，为一所大学的大量拉美裔美国学生提供这种分析技术的培训，该机构的本科生中有78%是西班牙裔学生。

With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program, Professor Luis Echegoyen from the University of Texas El Paso and colleagues Juan Noveron, Michael Eastman, Cristian Botez and Dino Villagran will acquire an electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer. The proposal is aimed at enhancing research training and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) synthesis of and sampling the highest occupied and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbitals (HOMO and LUMO) of endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs) and their derivatives; (b) parallel proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) with dimolybdenum bimetallic units; (c) understanding the electronic structure of Ru2(5+) dimers; (d) coordination chemistry of paramagnetic centers in metal-organic supramolecular nanomaterials; (e) cyanide polymers; and (f) magnetic behavior of metal oxide nanoparticle ensembles.EPR spectrometers detect electrons, more specifically, the energy necessary to excite an electron to a higher quantized energy state. This occurs when the spectrometer provides the energy necessary to flip the spin of an unpaired electron in the presence of an applied magnetic field. This information provides insight into the electronic structure and bonding of the material being studied, which can be utilized to understand its properties and how it might be used or improved. This spectrometer will provide faculty and research students with modern instrumentation not currently available at the institution advancing their research projects significantly. It will be used in an undergraduate laboratory course providing training in this analytical technique to large numbers of Hispanic-American students at an institution with a 78% undergraduate student body of Hispanic origin.