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

通过主要研究仪器（MRI）项目的奖励，来自德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将获得一台电子顺磁共振（EPR）光谱仪。该提案旨在加强各级的研究培训和教育，特别是在以下领域：(a)合成和采样内嵌金属富勒烯（emf）及其衍生物的最高占位和最低未占位分子轨道（HOMO和LUMO）；(b)具有二钼双金属单元的平行质子耦合电子转移（PCET）；(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；(f)金属氧化物纳米粒子系综的磁性行为。EPR能谱仪探测电子，更具体地说，是将电子激发到更高量子化能量状态所必需的能量。当光谱仪在外加磁场的作用下提供必要的能量来翻转未配对电子的自旋时，就会发生这种情况。这些信息提供了对所研究材料的电子结构和键合的深入了解，可以用来了解其特性以及如何使用或改进它。该光谱仪将为教师和研究生提供目前在该机构没有的现代仪器，大大推进他们的研究项目。它将用于本科实验课程，为一所拥有78%西班牙裔本科生的机构的大量西班牙裔美国学生提供这种分析技术的培训。

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.