Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Synthesis Of Phenyl Carbamate (From Urea, Phenol, And A Lewis Acid), Michael W. Barrett

Honors Theses

The synthesis of phenyl carbamate from urea, phenol, and Lewis acid was attempted with varied results being observed. The proposed reaction mechanism involves and Acyl-2 type reaction with a nucleophilic attack on urea by phenol. The Lewis acid is present to add carbocation character to the urea and to further complex with by-products, thus driving the reaction to completion. The solvents utilized were isopropyl alcohol, dichloromethane, and tetrahydrofuran. The reaction parameters were varied in an effort to successfully run a reaction mechanism. Phenyl carbamate was not isolated and what was observed of the reactions did not appear to follow the …

An Nmr Analysis Of The Hydrolysis Of Alpha-Bromopropionic Acid, Barbara A. Jensen

Honors Theses

The kinetics of hydrolysis of ∝-bromopropionic acid were investigated at 80° and a constant pH of 3.3. An average first order rate constant of 4.74x10-3 min-1 was determined. This hydrolysis reaction has been studied by several workers. It is unique in that the reaction proceeds through inversion reactions, the first involving the carboxylate ion. This paper covers the first study where the pH of the system was maintained constant. The design if an inexpensive pH-stat for this purpose is given. The experiment and/ or data lend themselves useful for treatment in physical chemistry where the students must gather data in …

The Triplet State Photophysics Of Phenanthrene, Roberta Susnow

Honors Theses

The first excited triplet state (TI state) of aromatic hydrocarbons such as phenanthrene acts as an intermediate in many chemical and photochemical reactions. The TI state is a metastable state and its lifetime can be measured in terms of its decay to the ground state. The duration of this decay is on the order of microseconds. Therefore, techniques for measuring the kinetics of fast reactions must be employed in the determination of the rate of the TI state decay, one such technique that is utilized in this research is flash photolysis. The rate of the Tl state decay is greatly …

Luminescence Probes For The Measurement Of Oxygen, Mary Katherine Carroll

Honors Theses

The goal of this project was to design an optical sensor for oxygen. One type of system suitable for oxygen detection in aqueous solutions is based on two distinct emission bands: one band oxygen-sensitive, the other insensitive to oxygen quenching. By taking the ratio of these bands, a quantitative measurement of the oxygen present could be obtained. This could be accomplished in a system where a fluorescing compound, through triplet state energy transfer, causes a lanthanide ion to luminesce. By choosing a compound which has a triplet energy near the excitation wavelength of terbium (III) or europium (III) and which …

Saponification Of Several Esters Of Pilvalic Acid, Kevin Thomas Watkins

Honors Theses

The base promoted hydrolysis, saponification, of several esters of pivalic acid (trimethyl acetic acid – C (CH3)3COOH) has been studied. Kinetic studies were performed and a possible mechanism for the reactions is proposed. The saponification of esters has been well studied. Ingold1 proposes three possible mechanisms for the reaction; Bac2, Bal1, and Bal2. The B stands for base promoted, the ac and al for acyl oxygen cleavage or alkyl oxygen cleavage, respectively, and the 1 or 2 for first or second order kinetics.

A Study Of Dislocations In Crystals Using The Technique Of Chemical Etching, Ramona R. Dennis

Honors Theses

The beauty of many of the crystalline solids has attracted man's attention from the earliest times. Eventually the science of crystallography developed from studies of their shapes. The word crystal sterns from the Greek word "krystallos" meaning "clear ice." The word was first applied to describe the clear quartz crystals found in the Swiss Alps. The crystals were thought to be formed from water under conditions of extreme cold.

The earliest recorded crystallographic observation was in 1597 by Andreas Libarius. He noticed that crystals of different substances often have characteristic shapes. He suggested that the salts in mineral water could …

Senior Honors Project, Kelly Dyksterhouse

Honors Theses

The Statistical Analysis Project is a computer program that interacts with a person to discover the type of statistical test that person should use. Essentially, this program is intended to assist students, faculty and researchers in choosing the correct statistical procedure to use in a particular situation. For example, there are many different types of tests a person can use to test the mean of data but each test is used in a different situation. This program will tell you which test to use based on the situation you give it. This project was started by Anika Forsblad in 1985.

A Preliminary Study On The Separation Of Bovine Plasma Albumin-Copper Ion Dimer And Trimer Reaction Products By Ion-Exchange Chromatography, James T. Miller

Honors Theses

When bovine plasma albumin is in the presence of copper metal ions at pH values below the isoelectric point, a dimerization reaction takes place between the protein molecules. The kinetics of this reaction have been previously studied by using light scattering techniques. These techniques involve monitoring the amount of light scattered as the dimerization reaction proceeds. As the amount of dimer present increases, more light is scattered due to increased molecular size in the solution. Accurate calculations of the rate of this reaction depend upon knowing the ratio of dimer to monomer concentrations at any given time. Unfortunately, evidence has …