CAREER: Molecular-Level Behavior of Chromophores in Dissolved Organic Matter

在化学系环境化学科学项目的支持下，德克萨斯A M大学的加勒特麦凯教授将研究溶解有机物中吸光化合物的化学结构。溶解有机物是地球上最丰富的碳源之一，与阳光的相互作用在环境中的碳循环中起着重要作用。利用先进的分析工具和光谱学，该项目将确定溶解有机物中吸光基团的结构组成以及这些基团相互作用的程度。了解这些光吸收基团如何相互作用将提高预测环境中溶解有机物的命运和反应性的能力。除了本科生和研究生的培训，教育推广计划，涉及拉夫金高中的（Lufkin，TX）水产科学课程，将给学生谁是代表性不足的群体的成员有机会研究溶解有机物发色团在当地水体使用国家的，溶解有机物中发色团的结构控制着水生系统中关键过程的机制和速率，例如元素循环，污染物的衰减和地球海洋的生产力。然而，形成DOM的光学和光化学性质的过程的知识仍然难以捉摸。这项研究将联合收割机将质谱、电化学和分离技术与多种光谱学相结合，以揭示溶解有机物发色团之间供体-受体相互作用的普遍性和组成。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

With support from the Environmental Chemical Sciences Program of the Chemistry Division, Professor Garrett McKay of Texas A&M University will study the chemical structure of light-absorbing compounds in dissolved organic matter. Dissolved organic matter is one of the most abundant carbon sources on earth, and interaction with sunlight plays an important role in cycling this carbon in the environment. Using advanced analytical tools and spectroscopy, the project will determine the structural components of light-absorbing groups in dissolved organic matter and the extent to which these groups interact with one another. Understanding how these light-absorbing groups interact will improve the ability to predict the fate and reactivity of dissolved organic matter in the environment. In addition to training of undergraduate and graduate students, an educational outreach program, involving Lufkin High School’s (Lufkin, TX) Aquatic Science course, will give students who are members of underrepresented groups an opportunity to study dissolved organic matter chromophores in a local water body using state-of-the art techniques.The structure of chromophores in dissolved organic matter governs the mechanisms and rates of key processes in aquatic systems, such as elemental cycles, attenuation of contaminants, and productivity of the Earth’s oceans. However, knowledge of the processes that shape DOM’s optical and photochemical properties remains elusive. This research will combine mass spectrometric, electrochemical, and separation techniques with multiple spectroscopies to unravel the prevalence and composition of donor-acceptor interactions between dissolved organic matter chromophores. Studies conducted with carefully chosen model compounds will also be used to evaluate the structural drivers of these interactions.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.