Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 8 of 8
Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
A Synthesis And Analysis Of Anhydrous Hydroxide Ion Conducting Polymer Electrolytes, Stanton Heydinger
A Synthesis And Analysis Of Anhydrous Hydroxide Ion Conducting Polymer Electrolytes, Stanton Heydinger
Honors Theses
This project investigates the synthesis and physical properties of polyethylene glycol monomethyl ether (MePEGn where n=3 or 7) based polymer electrolytes. The two polymer electrolytes explored in the experiments were designed from two different MePEG chains that varied in their overall length and degree of polymerization. The first MePEG backbone contained three polymerized ethoxy groups and the second contained seven. Both MePEGn polymers were modified by substituting an imidazolium group in place of the alcohol functional group at the end of the PEG chain. This modification was made to create a polymer electrolyte with an attached positive charge that could …
Theoretical And Experimental Vibrational Modes Of The Borane Pyridine Complex, Benjamin Stratton
Theoretical And Experimental Vibrational Modes Of The Borane Pyridine Complex, Benjamin Stratton
Honors Theses
Benjamin Wade Stratton: Theoretical and Experimental Vibrational Modes of the Borane Pyridine Complex (Under the direction of Dr. Nathan Hammer) The Borane Pyridine complex is a molecule that contains a dative bond between the boron and nitrogen atoms. A dative bond is a type of covalent bonding that occurs when both electrons come from the same atom. The B-N bond has been studied in several other molecules such as ammonia borane and determining the frequency at which this bond vibrates has been a topic of interest studied in these molecules as well as several others. This complex has another factor …
Blocking Recombinations In Dscs Through Mgo And Pfts Surface Treatments, Kayla Foell
Blocking Recombinations In Dscs Through Mgo And Pfts Surface Treatments, Kayla Foell
Honors Theses
High voltage dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) are becoming novel sources in the production of various fuel precursors, such as carbon monoxide and hydrogen, by powering carbon dioxide reduction, water oxidation, and proton reduction catalysts via sunlight. An important task in order to increase overall efficiency of DSC devices is to minimize recombination (electron flow in an undesirable direction) while increasing photovoltage. Surface treatment modifications can be applied to the TiO2 electrodes within DSC devices in an effort to block recombination without negatively effecting the other device performance metrics: fill factor (FF), short-circuit current density (Jsc), and open-circuit photovoltage (Voc). In …
Structures, Energetics, And Vibrational Frequencies Of Microhydrated Hexafluorophosphate, Pf6−(H2o)N=1,2 From Dft And Ab Initio Computations, Yasmeen Abdo
Honors Theses
This study systematically examines an anion commonly used in room temperature ionic liquids, hexafluorophosphate PF6−, and its non-covalent interactions with up to two explicit water molecules (PF6 − (H2 O)n where n = 1, 2). Initial low-energy configurations are identified via a set of relaxed angular scans across the edges and faces of the PF6− octahedron using the global hybrid M06-2X density functional with a triple-ζ correlation consistent basis set augmented with diffuse functions on all non- hydrogen atoms (cc-pVTZ for H and aug-cc-pVTZ for P, O, F; denoted haTZ). Full geometry optimizations are performed on these initial structures using …
Synthesis Of A Novel Tetradentate Ligand And Its Copper Complex For Redox Shuttle Applications, Joseph T. Vaughan
Synthesis Of A Novel Tetradentate Ligand And Its Copper Complex For Redox Shuttle Applications, Joseph T. Vaughan
Honors Theses
With growing energy demands, alternatives to the traditional non-renewable fuel sources are currently being explored. Of these alternative fuel sources, solar energy, particularly dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC), have garnered considerable interest. Traditional redox mediators within these solar cells have been triiodide/iodide couples, which pose several complications due to their corrosiveness, absorption in the visible range, and efficiency, motivating the development of better redox couples for next generation DSSCs. Thus, transition metal complexes have rapidly gained traction as a potential replacement for this traditional I-/I3- based system. In this study, a novel tetradentate ligand framework and its copper and nickel complexes …
Unexpected Outcomes During The Attempted Iodination Of Biphenol, Henry Nguyen
Unexpected Outcomes During The Attempted Iodination Of Biphenol, Henry Nguyen
Honors Theses
The goal of this research was to create a new procedure to iodinate 4,4- biphenol using a ball miller. Iodination of 4,4-biphenol was first attempted in solution using electrophilic aromatic substitution. Several attempts were made to iodinate 4,4-biphenol, but the general insolubility of crude products inhibited progress. Interestingly, NMR analysis of the aqueous ammonia product suggested that 4,4-biphenol dimerized or polymerized with itself to make an ether. The exact mechanism by which the ether dimer was created is unknown, but the reaction may have occurred using a radical mechanism. Though the original goal of the project is left unmet, a …
Design And Development Of Chemically And Biologically Stable Salvinorin-Based Ligands For Opioid Receptors, Tanner Neilson
Design And Development Of Chemically And Biologically Stable Salvinorin-Based Ligands For Opioid Receptors, Tanner Neilson
Honors Theses
The number of opioid prescriptions as a method in pain management increased dramatically in the mid 1990’s following Dr. James Campbell’s 1995 Presidential address to the American Pain Society, where he called for patient pain to be included as a vital sign. The rapid increase in prescriptions in the early 2000’s coupled with a massive effort by pharmaceutical companies to downplay the addictiveness of these drugs has led to a consistent increase in opioid-related drug overdoses, with 47,600 of 70,237 drug related deaths involving opioids in 2017. Opioid analgesics most commonly act upon the mu-opioid receptor (MOR), which is one …
Solvation Of Isoelectronic Halide And Alkali Metal Ions By Noble Gas Atoms, Carly A. Rock
Solvation Of Isoelectronic Halide And Alkali Metal Ions By Noble Gas Atoms, Carly A. Rock
Honors Theses
Alkali metal cations (M+ = Li+, Na+, K+, and Rb+), as well as their corresponding isoelectronic atomic anions (X− = H−, F−, Cl−, and Br−) were solvated with argon atoms (i.e., M+Arn and X−Arn where n=1−6). Full geometry optimizations were performed using the MP2 electronic structure method with a series of correlation consistent basis sets augmented with diffuse functions on argon and the anions (aug-cc-pVXZ) and weighted core valence basis sets were used for the cations (cc-pwCVXZ) that include the appropriate pseudopotentials for K+ and Rb+ (cc-pwCVXZ-PP). The basis sets for a particular cluster are, hereafter, simply denoted as XZ …