Inorganic Chemistry Commons^™

Hydrothermal Synthesis Of First-Row Transition Metal Polyanions Towards The Design Of Frustrated Magnetic Materials, Megan Smart

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Novel modern materials are constantly being discovered as humanity seeks constantly better improvement to the optics and electronics around us, from lasers used in medical therapies to the magnets and supercomputing chips in our phones. Inorganic oxides commonly draw inspiration from naturally occurring minerals to template new discoveries through substitution of similarly behaving elements with the goal of inducing certain desired properties, such as ferroelectricity or creating the elusive quantum spin liquid. While many minerals are silicates, its periodic table neighbor germanium(IV) has a rich and under-explored crystal chemistry that could contain many new structures and magnetic materials. Another common …

Hydrothermal Synthesis Of Frustrated Lanthanide Pyrochlores And Transition Metal Double Perovskites And Germanates, Matthew S. Powell

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Magnetically frustrated materials hold promise of unique behavior allowing for the novel study of quantum phenomena. Such materials are poised to become an integral foundation for technological advancement in the post-Silicon Age. Crystalline materials are given special focus where the rigid lattice allows more detailed study of these quantized effects and frustration behavior. As opposed to polycrystalline powders, large single crystals can be preferentially aligned enabling the study of anisotropic behavior. Two cubic structure types have garnered significant interest due to their 3-D tetrahedral arrangement of symmetry-related metal centers with the potential for magnetic frustration: pyrochlores and perovskites.

The supercritical …

Computational And Experimental Investigations Of Alkali Cation Interactions At The Rutile – Water Interface, Isaac Johnston

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Overall, the objective of this dissertation was to investigate the degree of sorption for the alkali cations on rutile to ascertain the impact of different cation properties, such as ion size and charge density, on sorption mechanics as well as probe how the ion may alter the surface – aqueous interface. Initial molecular dynamic simulations and batch experiments showed minimal surface sorption for any alkali cation at relatively low concentrations while simultaneously suggesting the enthalpy of deprotonation shifts slightly in the presence of the alkali cations at different ionic strengths. The cations are likely causing small reorientations of the near-surface …

Competition Between Halogen And Chalcogen Bonding And Their Role In Probing Organic Transformations, Andrew Peloquin

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Halogen bonding, the attractive interaction of an electrophilic region on a halogen atom with a nucleophilic region on another atom or molecule, provides a highly directional tool in forming solid-state motifs. This interaction, along with the related chalcogen bonding interactions, forms powerful synthons, which, when combined with other typical intermolecular attractions such as hydrogen bonding, allow for the design of supramolecular structures and inputs to crystal engineering. This dissertation research serves two primary purposes: (1) to catalog halogen and chalcogen bonding interactions with various donor molecules and (2) to utilize these interactions to probe interesting organic transformations.

In order to …

Valorization Of Biopolymers And Biomass To Produce Materials For A More Circular Economy, Moira Lauer

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With a globally increasing population and largely unchecked consumption of raw materials, human society is on track for devastating consequences. Two industries responsible for utilizing massive amounts of raw materials and generating equally gargantuan quantities of waste are the packaging and infrastructure sectors. In 2017 in Europe, for example, packaging reached a record 173 kg of packaging waste per capita. One of the largest packaging consumers is the food industry, in which 40% of packaging is made of petroleum-derived single-use plastic, leading to a massive carbon imbalance. “The Built Environment,” on the other hand, is responsible for about 50% of …

Light Harvesting And Electrically Conducting Metal-Organic Frameworks, Monica Gordillo Varela

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Composed of metal clusters nodes and organic linkers, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have emerged as versatile platforms with unparalleled chemical and structural tunability, synthetic facility, permanent porosity, and size-selective guest encapsulation capability. These features make them potential candidates for a variety of applications such as gas storage,drug delivery, catalysis,and sensing. In recent years, the introduction of redox- and photoactive components have yielded stimuli-responsive electronic and photonic MOFs and expanded their utility in molecular electronics and energy storage devices/technologies.

Chapter one describes the light-harvesting ability of a porphyrin-based MOF. Herein, we have demonstrated spontaneous solvothermal growth of [100]-oriented uniform pillared-porphyrin framework-11 (PPF-11) …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Extended Solids Containing Nano-Sized Transition Metal Oxide Lattices, Matthew Williams

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In this research, focus has been placed on the study of magnetic anomalies due to geometric frustration of magnetic ions. The goal of the study presented in this dissertation was to synthesize pseudo&ndashlow&ndashdimensional (PLD) compounds, those structures showing zero (dot), one (chain), and two (sheet) dimensional lattices observed in extended (3D) host frameworks with enhanced anisotropic physical properties, in an attempt to elucidate some structure&ndashproperty correlations arising from magnetic spin confinement. The scope of this research involved 1) exploratory synthesis of novel, low&ndashdimensional transition metal oxide lattices, specifically Mn and V, embedded in non&ndashmagnetic oxyanion frameworks, either Ge, P, or …

Synthesis Of Meta-Terphenyl Scaffolded Molecules For Catalysis And Sensor Applications, Brad Morgan

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The utility of the m-terphenyl has been observed in a wide variety of applications since its first discovery. The tunable conformational flexibility contributes to the unique properties and resulting applications thereof. Chapter 1 goes into detail about the concepts used throughout and defines the tools needed to understand the chemistry in the
resulting chapters.
The primary use of the m-terphenyl herein is as a canopy that shields a pocket created underneath the central ring. Functionalization within this pocket allows metal binding in defined coordination environments. with the use of donor ligands attached to the flanking rings. The applications of these …

Synthesis And Characterization Of Magnetic Solids Containing Periodic Arrays Of Transition Metal Oxide Nanostructures, Wendy Queen

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The ultimate goal of the research presented in this dissertation was to explore new systems containing low–dimensional magnetic nanostructures in hopes of finding new extended solids exhibiting novel magnetic properties due to the confined magnetic lattices. The scope of this research is threefold: 1) to explore new solids containing low–dimensional magnetic nanostructures in the A–M–X–O system, where A is an alkali or alkalinendash;earth metal cation, M is a first–row transition metal cation, and X is P, As, or V, 2) to characterize these new materials and, through chemical substitution, fine tune (and optimize) magnetic and electronic properties of solids that …

Synthesis Of Complex Fluorides For Optical Applications, Seth Stepleton

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Large single crystals of alkali metal fluorides are desirable for many reasons. Fluoride laser crystals have a wide transmission range and on account of their low phonon energies, many efficient laser emissions have been obtained from 285 nm to 4.34 µm.1,2 Inorganic fluoride single crystals feature large bandgaps, very wide optical transmittance ranges from vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) to mid-IR wavelength regions, lower refractive indices than those of oxides, and typically lower phonon energies (which drastically reduce multiphonon relaxation rates of rare earth ions).3
The main goal of this work was to investigate the hydrothermal synthesis of alkali metal fluorides. Melt techniques …

Understanding The Antioxidant Mechanism Of Inorganic Selenium, Oxo- Sulfur, And Polyphenol Compounds, And The Biological Implications Of Functionalized Nanoparticles, Ria Ramoutar

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Inorganic selenium, oxo-sulfur, and polyphenol compounds are found in foods and dietary supplements, and are recognized for their nutritional benefits and their potential to treat or prevent diseases caused by oxidative stress. In our experiments to determine the effects of inorganic selenium compounds on iron-mediated DNA damage, Na₂SeO₃3 and SeO₂ exhibit antioxidant and pro-oxidant activities depending on concentrations of both the compound and hydrogen peroxide. Additional experiments demonstrate that iron coordination is a novel mechanism responsible for the observed activities. In similar experiments, oxo-sulfur compounds prevent Cu+/ H₂O₂-mediated DNA damage significantly …

Hydrothermal Crystal Growth Of Tetravalent And Pentavalent Metal Oxides, James Mann

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Over the past two hundred years synthetic growth of crystals has become vital to the technological advancement of our society. A variety of crystal growth techniques have been developed during this time, with each having its own nuances. These differences have enabled the growth of a wide spectrum of crystalline materials that can be used for many applications which include solid state lasers, semiconductors, and communication devices. Despite these techniques there are entire classes of materials which have thus far proved quite difficult to prepare as single crystals. In particular, crystal growth of the tetravalent and pentavalent metal oxides has …

Synthesis Of Ionic Liquid Monomers Using Fluorinated Sulfonyl Imide Anions And The 1,3-Dialkylimidazolium Cation, Thomas Hickman

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With their unique material and solvent properties, ionic liquids have seen an amazing, exponential increase in interest. After a brief introduction of select areas of interest for these compounds, this thesis mainly focuses on the development of novel polyfunctional ionic liquids and polymeric ionic liquids.
One of the preferred anions for ionic liquids is the bis((trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl) imide anion, first introduced by our group in 1982. It shows excellent thermal stability and the desired resonance delocalization of a negative charge for ionic liquids. A series of monofunctional, difunctional, and multi-functional bis(perfluoroalkylsufonyl)imides, along with 1,3-dialkylimidazolium cations were prepared by direct methylation of …

Synthesis, Structure And Magnetic Properties Of Oxy-Anion Based Magnetic Solids Containing Transition Metal Oxide Nanostructures, Kulugammana Gedera Ranmohotti

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Inline with the focus of our research, my goal for this dissertation study is to further explore new classes of magnetic insulators exhibiting novel properties. The scope of this work is twofold: 1) the exploratory synthesis of polyanion-based mixed-framework compounds containing transition metal oxide magnetic nanostructures, and 2) the investigation of the structure/property correlation with respect to the spin couplings in confined lattices. These studies are of fundamental and technological importance regarding the long-term development of low-dimensional magnetic solids for device applications in especially information storage and quantum computing. Several interesting and significant transition metal based silicate, phosphate arsenate and …

The Role Of Metal Coordnation In The Inhibition Of Iron(Ii)- And Copper(I)-Mediated Dna Damage By Organoselenium And Organosulfur Compounds, Erin Battin

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Copper and iron are two widely-studied transition metals associated with hydroxyl radical (OH) generation: Fe2+/Cu+ + H2O2 = Fe3+/Cu2+ + OH + OH-. Metal-mediated oxidative damage is a major cause of cellular DNA damage and death, and has been implicated in cancer, neurodegenerative, and cardiovascular diseases. Because sulfur and selenium antioxidants ameliorate oxidative damage, the ability of twenty biological sulfur- and selenium-containing compounds to inhibit metal-mediated DNA damage caused by hydroxyl radical has been quantified. In the Cu+/H2O2 system, six sulfur compounds and three selenium compounds inhibited DNA damage with IC50 values ranging from 3.3 to 25.5 μM. Several sulfur …

Effects Of Polyphenol Compounds On Iron-And Copper-Mediated Dna Damage: Mechanisms And Predictive Models, Nathan Perron

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Polyphenol compounds are widely recognized for their antioxidant activity; however, under some conditions these compounds can also exhibit prooxidant activity. This work examined the interactions of polyphenols with iron and copper to improve understanding of both their antioxidant and prooxidant effects. Polyphenols with catechol and gallol groups effectively inhibit iron-mediated oxidative DNA damage by chelating iron, with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1-59 µM. Gallate compounds are more potent than their catecholate analogues in every instance, and their antioxidant potencies correlate to pK_a values for the most acidic phenolic hydrogen. This correlation represents the first predictive model of …

Exploratory Synthesis Of New Open-Framework Iron (Ii,Iii)-Containing Polyanion Systems Targeted For Lithium-Ion Battery Applications, Gregory Becht

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The chemistry demonstrated in this dissertation is concerned with the synthesis, structure, properties and applications of inorganic solids containing iron(II,II) redox centers. The endeavor in exploratory synthesis is due largely to the employment of molten salt fluxes such as alkali metal chloride. These halide-fluxes act in two parts; 1) as a solvent to lower the reaction temperature and 2) as an in situ source of unavailable alkali oxides through metathesis reactions. Using these halide fluxes has allowed for the discovery of several new transition metal-containing phosphates, arsenates, and vanadates for a structure/property correlation study. From this study the selected compounds …

Exploratory Synthesis And Characterization Of New Mixed-Framework Chalcohalides And Oxyhalide And Its Potential Applications For Diluted Magnetic Semiconductor, Lei Wang

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Due to the excellent diverse properties and performance, solid-state material with low-dimensional crystal structure has always been interested by solid-state scientists. Besides the interesting properties, the low-dimensional-structured materials are used as the platform for further research and application of semiconductor and optical devices, as well as theoretic studies. My dissertation research mainly focuses on two aspects: discovery of solids with low-dimensional crystal structure; fabrication and investigation of new materials using the discovered materials as the platform.
The idea of mixed-anion-framework has been used in synthesis of novel low-dimensional-structured solid-state materials. The stereo-active Sb³⁺/Bi³⁺ chalcogenides building units and …

Hydrothermal Crystal Growth Of Oxides For Optical Applications, Colin Mcmillen

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There is great interest in obtaining coherent radiation in all regions of the optical spectrum. This dissertation explores the hydrothermal growth of crystals that function in two regions currently inaccessible by solid state devices. The first gap exists in the deep-UV region, particularly below 200 nm. Some materials such as LBO and BBO can generate coherent light at wavelengths as low as 205 nm. The growth of these materials was explored to investigate the feasibility of the hydrothermal method as a new technique for growing these crystals. Particular attention was paid to the descriptive chemistry surrounding these systems, and several …