MRI: Acquisition of an X-Ray Diffractometer to Enhance Research and Education at Southeastern New England Colleges

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With this award from the Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI) and support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation Program (CRIF), Professor David Manke from the University of Massachussetts, Dartmouth and colleagues Maolin Guo, Steven Haefner (Bridgewater State University), Sivappa Rasapalli and Jonathan Rochford (U Mass Boston) will acquire a dual source X-ray diffractometer. In general, an X-ray diffractometer allows accurate and precise measurements of the full three-dimensional structure of a molecule, including bond distances and angles, and provides accurate information about the spatial arrangement of a molecule relative to neighboring molecules. The studies described here will impact a number of areas, including organic and inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry and biochemistry. This instrument will be an integral part of teaching as well as research and research training not only at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth but also at neighboring institutions such as the University of Massachusetts Boston, Bridgewater State University, University of Rhode Island, Salve Regina University, Rhode Island College, and Brown University which are part of a consortium.The award is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels, especially in areas such as (a) designing and synthesizing Lewis base derivatized metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to selectively remove carbon dioxide from gaseous mixtures; (b) studying capped, mixed bimetallic systems for the catalytic reduction of carbon dioxide; (c) developing mono- and bi-metallo-intercalators for site specific binding of DNA; (d) investigating molecular systems for application in photovoltaics, photocatalytic carbon dioxide reduction and photoacoustic imaging technologies; (e) studying bioinorganic chemistry of iron and hydrogen peroxide homeostasis; and (f) developing strategies for the preparation of complex organic molecules.