ACQUISITION OF A SOLID STATE NMR INSTRUMENT AT RUTGERS UNIVERSITY FOR RESEARCH AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES IN NEW JERSEY AREA

With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Departmental Multi-User Instrumentation program (CRIF:MU), Professors Eric L. Garfunkel and colleagues Tewodros Asefa, Martha Greenblatt, Frank Jordan and Bozena Michniak from the Department of Chemistry at Rutgers University New Brunswick will acquire a 400 MHz NMR spectrometer for the study of solids. The instrument will be used to support research activities such as: 1) sample composition of nanoporous materials and inorganic catalysts; 2) polymers used for drug delivery applications; 3) inorganic catalysts capable of effecting fundamental transformations to yield fuels and chemicals; 4) thermoelectric materials useful for energy transformation; 5) mesoporous metal oxide, semiconductor and polymer gel electrolytes for energy applications; and 6) biopolymers and biomolecules useful for treatment of diseases and disease diagnostics.Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is one of the most powerful tools available to chemists for the elucidation of the structure of molecules. It is used to identify unknown substances, to characterize specific arrangements of atoms within molecules, and to study the dynamics of interactions between molecules in solids and in solution. Because this particular instrument will analyze substances in the solid state it will provide valuable structural information on a variety on insoluble materials. Access to state-of-the-art NMR spectrometers is essential to chemists who are carrying out frontier research. The results from these NMR studies will have an impact in synthetic organic/inorganic chemistry, materials and biochemistry.