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Full-Text Articles in Chemistry

Preparation Of Methanediamine (Ch2(Nh2)2)—A Precursor To Nucleobases In The Interstellar Medium, Joshua H. Marks, Jia Wang, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Ralf I. Kaiser Dec 2022

Preparation Of Methanediamine (Ch2(Nh2)2)—A Precursor To Nucleobases In The Interstellar Medium, Joshua H. Marks, Jia Wang, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Ralf I. Kaiser

Faculty and Student Publications

Although methanediamine (CH2(NH2)2) has historically been the subject of theoretical scrutiny, it has never been isolated to date. Here, we report the preparation of methanediamine (CH2(NH2)2)—the simplest diamine. Low-temperature interstellar analog ices composed of ammonia and methylamine were exposed to energetic electrons which act as proxies for secondary electrons produced in the track of galactic cosmic rays. These experimental conditions, which simulate the conditions within cold molecular clouds, . result in radical formation and initiate aminomethyl (ĊH2NH2) and amino (NH2) radical chemistry. Exploiting tunable photoionization reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI-ReToF-MS) to make isomer-specific assignments, methanediamine was identified in the gas …


The Spectral Features And Detectability Of Small, Cyclic Silicon Carbide Clusters, Christopher M. Sehring, C. Zachary Palmer, Brent R. Westbrook, Ryan C. Fortenberry Dec 2022

The Spectral Features And Detectability Of Small, Cyclic Silicon Carbide Clusters, Christopher M. Sehring, C. Zachary Palmer, Brent R. Westbrook, Ryan C. Fortenberry

Faculty and Student Publications

Rovibrational spectral data for several tetra-atomic silicon carbide clusters (TASCCs) are computed in this work using a CCSD(T)-F12b/cc-pCVTZ-F12 quartic force field. Accurate theoretical spectroscopic data may facilitate the observation of TASCCs in the interstellar medium which may lead to a more complete understanding of how the smallest silicon carbide (SiC) solids are formed. Such processes are essential for understanding SiC dust grain formation. Due to SiC dust prevalence in the interstellar medium, this may also shed light on subsequent planetary formation. Rhomboidal Si2C2 is shown here to have a notably intense (247 km mol−1) anharmonic vibrational frequency at 988.1 cm−1 …


Experimental Identification Of Aminomethanol (Nh2ch2oh)—The Key Intermediate In The Strecker Synthesis, Santosh K. Singh, Cheng Zhu, Jesse La Jeunesse, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Ralf I. Kaiser Dec 2022

Experimental Identification Of Aminomethanol (Nh2ch2oh)—The Key Intermediate In The Strecker Synthesis, Santosh K. Singh, Cheng Zhu, Jesse La Jeunesse, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Ralf I. Kaiser

Faculty and Student Publications

The Strecker Synthesis of (a)chiral α-amino acids from simple organic compounds, such as ammonia (NH3), aldehydes (RCHO), and hydrogen cyanide (HCN) has been recognized as a viable route to amino acids on primordial earth. However, preparation and isolation of the simplest hemiaminal intermediate – the aminomethanol (NH2CH2OH)– formed in the Strecker Synthesis to even the simplest amino acid glycine (H2NCH2COOH) has been elusive. Here, we report the identification of aminomethanol prepared in low-temperature methylamine (CH3NH2) – oxygen (O2) ices upon exposure to energetic electrons. Isomer-selective photoionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (PI-ReTOF-MS) facilitated the gas phase detection of aminomethanol during the temperature …


Theoretical Spectra And Energetics For C-C3hc2h, L-C5h2, And Bipyramidal D3h C5h2, Alexandria G. Watrous, Brent R. Westbrook, Ryan C. Fortenberry Nov 2022

Theoretical Spectra And Energetics For C-C3hc2h, L-C5h2, And Bipyramidal D3h C5h2, Alexandria G. Watrous, Brent R. Westbrook, Ryan C. Fortenberry

Faculty and Student Publications

The recent astronomical detection of c-C3HC2H and l-C5H2 has led to increased interest in C5H2 isomers and their relative stability. The present work provides the first complete list of anharmonic vibrational spectral data with infrared intensities for three such isomers as well as including the first set of rotational data for the bipyramidal C5H2 isomer allowing for these molecules to serve as potential tracers of interstellar carbon. All three isomers have fundamental vibrational frequencies with at least one notably intense fundamental frequency. The l-C5H2 isomer has, by far, the highest intensities out of the three isomers at 2076.3 cm−1 (738 …


Labeling Microplastics With Fluorescent Dyes For Detection, Recovery, And Degradation Experiments, Zhiqiang Gao, Kendall Wontor, James V. Cizdziel Nov 2022

Labeling Microplastics With Fluorescent Dyes For Detection, Recovery, And Degradation Experiments, Zhiqiang Gao, Kendall Wontor, James V. Cizdziel

Faculty and Student Publications

Staining microplastics (MPs) for fluorescence detection has been widely applied in MP analyses. However, there is a lack of standardized staining procedures and conditions, with different researchers using different dye concentrations, solvents, incubation times, and staining temperatures. Moreover, with the limited types and morphologies of commercially available MPs, a simple and optimized approach to making fluorescent MPs is needed. In this study, 4 different textile dyes, along with Nile red dye for comparison, are used to stain 17 different polymers under various conditions to optimize the staining procedure. The MPs included both virgin and naturally weathered polymers with different sizes …


On Airborne Tire Wear Particles Along Roads With Different Traffic Characteristics Using Passive Sampling And Optical Microscopy, Single Particle Sem/Edx, And Μ-Atr-Ftir Analyses, Zhiqiang Gao, James V. Cizdziel, Kendall Wontor, Carly Clisham, Kaylea Focia, Juanita Rausch, David Jaramillo-Vogel Oct 2022

On Airborne Tire Wear Particles Along Roads With Different Traffic Characteristics Using Passive Sampling And Optical Microscopy, Single Particle Sem/Edx, And Μ-Atr-Ftir Analyses, Zhiqiang Gao, James V. Cizdziel, Kendall Wontor, Carly Clisham, Kaylea Focia, Juanita Rausch, David Jaramillo-Vogel

Faculty and Student Publications

Tire wear particles (TWPs) are a major category of microplastic pollution produced by friction between tires and road surfaces. This non-exhaust particulate matter (PM) is transported through the air and with runoff leading to environmental pollution and health concerns. Here, we collected airborne PM along paved roads with different traffic volumes and speeds using Sigma-2 passive samplers. Particles entering the samplers deposit onto substrates for analysis, or, as we modified it, directly into small (60 ml) separatory funnels, which is particularly useful with high particle loads, where a density separation aids in isolating the microplastics. We quantified putative TWPs (∼10–80 …


The Formation Of Monosubstituted Cyclopropenylidene Derivatives In The Interstellar Medium Via Neutral-Neutral Reaction Pathways, Athena R. Flint, Ryan C. Fortenberry Oct 2022

The Formation Of Monosubstituted Cyclopropenylidene Derivatives In The Interstellar Medium Via Neutral-Neutral Reaction Pathways, Athena R. Flint, Ryan C. Fortenberry

Faculty and Student Publications

Five substituted cyclopropenylidene derivatives (c-C3HX, X = CN, OH, F, NH2), all currently undetected in the interstellar medium (ISM), are found herein to have mechanistically viable, gas-phase formation pathways through neutral-neutral additions of ·X onto c-C3H2. The detection and predicted formation mechanism of c-C3HC2H introduces a need for the chemistry of c-C3H2 and any possible derivatives to be more fully explored. Chemically accurate CCSD(T)-F12/cc-pVTZ-F12 calculations provide exothermicities of additions of various radical species to c-C3H2, alongside energies of submerged intermediates that are crossed to result in product formation. Of the novel reaction mechanisms proposed, the addition of the cyano radical …


Mercury Methylation Potentials In Sediments Of An Ancient Cypress Wetland Using Species-Specific Isotope Dilution Gc-Icp-Ms, Derek D. Bussan, Chris Douvris, James V. Cizdziel Aug 2022

Mercury Methylation Potentials In Sediments Of An Ancient Cypress Wetland Using Species-Specific Isotope Dilution Gc-Icp-Ms, Derek D. Bussan, Chris Douvris, James V. Cizdziel

Faculty and Student Publications

Wetlands are of a considerable environmental value as they provide food and habitat for plants and animals. Several important chemical transformations take place in wetland media, including the conversion of inorganic mercury (Hg) to monomethylmercury (MeHg), a toxic compound with a strong tendency for bioconcentration. Considering the fact that wetlands are hotspots for Hg methylation, we investigated, for the first time, Hg methylation and demethylation rates in an old growth cypress wetland at Sky Lake in the Mississippi Delta. The Sky Lake ecosystem undergoes large-scale water level fluctuations causing alternating periods of oxic and anoxic conditions in the sediment. These …


Spectral Signatures Of Hydrogen Thioperoxide (Hosh) And Hydrogen Persulfide (Hssh): Possible Molecular Sulfur Sinks In The Dense Ism, Charles Z. Palmer, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Joseph S. Francisco May 2022

Spectral Signatures Of Hydrogen Thioperoxide (Hosh) And Hydrogen Persulfide (Hssh): Possible Molecular Sulfur Sinks In The Dense Ism, Charles Z. Palmer, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Joseph S. Francisco

Faculty and Student Publications

For decades, sulfur has remained underdetected in molecular form within the dense interstellar medium (ISM), and somewhere a molecular sulfur sink exists where it may be hiding. With the discovery of hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) in the ISM in 2011, a natural starting point may be found in sulfur-bearing analogs that are chemically similar to HOOH: hydrogen thioperoxide (HOSH) and hydrogen persulfide (HSSH). The present theoretical study couples the accuracy in the anharmonic fundamental vibrational frequencies from the explicitly correlated coupled cluster theory with the accurate rotational constants provided by canonical high-level coupled cluster theory to produce rovibrational spectra for use …


Raman Spectroscopic And Quantum Chemical Investigation Of The Pyridine-Borane Complex And The Effects Of Dative Bonding On The Normal Modes Of Pyridine, Ethan C. Lambert, Benjamin W. Stratton, Nathan I. Hammer Apr 2022

Raman Spectroscopic And Quantum Chemical Investigation Of The Pyridine-Borane Complex And The Effects Of Dative Bonding On The Normal Modes Of Pyridine, Ethan C. Lambert, Benjamin W. Stratton, Nathan I. Hammer

Faculty and Student Publications

The pyridine-borane (PyBH3) complex was analyzed by Raman vibrational spectroscopy and density functional theory to elucidate its structural and vibrational properties and to compare these with those for neat pyridine (Py). The borane-nitrogen (BN) bond length, the BN dative bond stretching frequency, and the effects of dative-bonded complex formation on Py are presented. Rather than having a single isolated stretching motion, the complex exhibits multiple BN dative bond stretches that are coupled to Py's vibrations. These modes exhibit large shifts that are higher in energy relative to neat Py, similar to previous observations of Py/water mixtures. However, significantly higher charge …


Valence-, Dipole-And Quadropole-Bound Electronically Excited States Of Closed-Shell Anions Formed By Deprotonation Of Cyano-And Ethynyl-Disubstituted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Marie E. Strauss, Taylor J. Santaloci, Ryan C. Fortenberry Mar 2022

Valence-, Dipole-And Quadropole-Bound Electronically Excited States Of Closed-Shell Anions Formed By Deprotonation Of Cyano-And Ethynyl-Disubstituted Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Marie E. Strauss, Taylor J. Santaloci, Ryan C. Fortenberry

Faculty and Student Publications

Dicyano-functionalized benzene and naphthalene anion derivatives exhibit a relatively rich population of electronically excited states in stark contrast to many assumptions regarding the photophysics of anions in general. The present work has quantum chemically analyzed the potential electronically excited states of closed-shell anions created by replacing hydrogen atoms with valence-bound lone pairs in benzene and naphthalene difunctionalized with combinations of-CN and-C2H. Dicyanobenzene anion derivatives can exhibit dipole-bound excited states as long as the cyano groups are not in para position to one another. This also extends to cyanoethynylbenzene anions as well as deprotonated dicyano-and cyanoethynylnaphthalene anion derivatives. Diethynyl functionalization is …


Near-Infrared Unsymmetrical Squaraine Core-Based Sensitizers For Co-Sensitized High-Photocurrent Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Jonathon Watson, Roberta R. Rodrigues, Jared H. Delcamp Jan 2022

Near-Infrared Unsymmetrical Squaraine Core-Based Sensitizers For Co-Sensitized High-Photocurrent Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells, Jonathon Watson, Roberta R. Rodrigues, Jared H. Delcamp

Faculty and Student Publications

Increased conversion of near-infrared (NIR) photons to electricity is needed to improve dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). Here, we report two squaraine dyes (RR13 and RR14) with unsymmetrical cores as NIR dyes in DSCs. Both dyes feature a conjugated indolizine donor with an indoline donor on the opposite side of the squaraine core. The dyes are studied via absorption spectroscopy, computational interrogation, and electrochemical analysis. The use of the strongly donating indolizine donor results in NIR photon-to-current conversion extending beyond 800 nm on TiO2 in DSC devices. The DSC devices were characterized by current-voltage curves, incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency measurements, and …


Synthesis Of Methanediol [Ch2(Oh)2]: The Simplest Geminal Diol, Cheng Zhu, N. Fabian Kleimeier, Andrew M. Turner, Santosh K. Singh, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Ralf I. Kaiser Jan 2022

Synthesis Of Methanediol [Ch2(Oh)2]: The Simplest Geminal Diol, Cheng Zhu, N. Fabian Kleimeier, Andrew M. Turner, Santosh K. Singh, Ryan C. Fortenberry, Ralf I. Kaiser

Faculty and Student Publications

Geminal diols—organic molecules carrying two hydroxyl groups at the same carbon atom—have been recognized as key reactive intermediates by the physical (organic) chemistry and atmospheric science communities as fundamental transients in the aerosol cycle and in the atmospheric ozonolysis reaction sequence. Anticipating short lifetimes and their tendency to fragment to water plus the aldehyde or ketone, free geminal diols represent one of the most elusive classes of organic reactive intermediates. Here, we afford an exceptional glance into the preparation of the previously elusive methanediol [CH2(OH)2] transient—the simplest geminal diol—via energetic processing of low-temperature methanol–oxygen ices. Methanediol was identified in the …