RUI: Thermochemical Studies of Simple Sugars and Diols

在这个由化学系化学结构、动力学机制B计划资助的项目中，路易斯安那州泽维尔大学化学系的Kathleen Morgan教授将研究单糖和相关化合物的化学能含量。 这些数据对于帮助我们进一步了解生物质（一种可再生和碳中性的能源和化学原料）如何降解为有用的燃料或化学构件具有重要意义。 路易斯安那州泽维尔大学既是一所主要的本科院校，也是一所历史悠久的黑人学院，拥有数百个科学专业。 这个项目将有助于培养未来博士所需的实验室和演讲技巧的本科生。研究或其他以科学为导向的职业。 涉及K-8学生的外展活动也是资助项目的一部分，重点是新奥尔良的公立学校。碳水化合物在自然界中无处不在，但我们对糖热化学的知识仍然存在重大差距。在这项研究中，将确定具有2-4个碳的简单单糖的生成热;值得注意的是，这些值是未知的。 将使用反应量热法、蒸发测量和高级计算的组合来获得糖和相关化合物（如1，2-二醇）的生成热。 虽然高级计算通常可以用来获得高质量的热化学数据，但感兴趣的化合物具有大量重要的构象，使得精确的计算远非常规。 在这项研究中确定的形成热将与合作者确定的键能结合使用，键能提供参与生物质降解的自由基的形成热。 这些数据将有助于推进我们对生物质降解机制的理解。

In this project funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamic & Mechanism B Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Kathleen Morgan of the Department of Chemistry at Xavier University of Louisiana will study the chemical energy content of simple sugars and related compounds. These data are of significance in helping advance our understanding of how biomass, a renewable and carbon-neutral source of energy and chemical feedstock, degrades into useful fuels or chemical building blocks. Xavier University of Louisiana is both a primarily undergraduate institution and a Historically Black College with hundreds of science majors. This project will help train undergraduates with the laboratory and presentation skills needed for future Ph.D. studies or other science-oriented careers. Outreach activities involving K-8 students are also part of the funded project, with a focus on public schools in New Orleans.Carbohydrates are ubiquitous in nature, yet there are still major gaps in our knowledge of sugar thermochemistry. In this study, heats of formation will be determined for simple monosaccharides having 2-4 carbons; remarkably, these values are unknown. A combination of reaction calorimetry, vaporization measurements, and high-level calculations will be used to obtain the heats of formation for sugars and related compounds such as 1,2-diols. Although high-level calculations can often be used to obtain high quality thermochemical data, the compounds of interest have a large number of important conformations, making accurate calculations far from routine. The heats of formation determined in this study will be used in conjunction with bond energies determined by collaborators, which afford the heats of formation of radicals that are involved in the degradation of biomass. Together these data will help move forward our understanding of the mechanism of biomass degradation.