Thermochemistry of Metal-Ligand Bonds (Singly and Multiply Charged) and Protonated Peptides

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In this award, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms A (CSDM-A) Program of the Division of Chemistry Professor Peter Armentrout of the Department of Chemistry of the University of Utah and graduate student researchers are studying the reactivity of electrically-charged species (ions) with neutral molecules in extraordinarily well-defined systems. From these experiments, they obtain information about the energetics of reactions (thermochemistry) as well as information about the speed with which these reactions take place (kinetics). Students educated in the Armentrout laboratory will be trained for a wide variety of technical careers. Besides his scientific work, Prof. Armentrout reaches large numbers of members of the public through his Christmas Faraday Lectures at the University of Utah.Prof. Armentrout and his graduate students will be carrying out a series of experiments, exploring the reactivity of transition metal cations with neutral reaction partners, using the Armentrout group's guided ion beam mass spectrometer (GIBMS) instruments. Studies will include: (1) state-specific measurements of transition metal cation reactivity, with an emphasis on quantitative evaluation of spin-orbit effects on chemical reactivity; (2) measurement of solvation energies of multiply charged metal ions, including explicit quantification of the potential energy surface for charge separation channels, emphasizing environmentally and biologically important examples; (3) continued studies of binding of biologically-relevant molecules to metal cations and protonated systems; and (4) theoretical work to complement all of the experimental studies in (1) - (3). Students receiving training in Prof. Armentrout's laboratory have gone on to positions in academia and industry.