| NSF Org: |
CHE Division Of Chemistry |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | June 20, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | June 20, 2018 |
| Award Number: | 1828064 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Amanda Haes
CHE Division Of Chemistry MPS Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences |
| Start Date: | August 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | July 31, 2021 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $279,999.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $279,999.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1523 UNION RD RM 207 GAINESVILLE FL US 32611-1941 (352)392-3516 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
FL US 32611-2002 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Major Research Instrumentation |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.049 |
ABSTRACT
This award is supported by the Major Research Instrumentation and the Chemistry Research Instrumentation programs. Professor Lisa McElwee-White from University of Florida and colleagues George Christou, Khalil Abboud, Ronald Castellano and Adam Veige have acquired a dual source single crystal X-ray diffractometer. In general, an X-ray diffractometer allows accurate and precise measurements of the full three-dimensional structure of a molecule, including bond distances and angles, and provides accurate information about the spatial arrangement of a molecule relative to neighboring molecules. The studies described here impact many areas, including organic and inorganic chemistry, materials chemistry and biochemistry. This instrument is an integral part of teaching as well as research and research training of graduate and undergraduate students in chemistry and biochemistry at this institution. Students enroll in a graduate crystallography course and the many informal classes that introduce modern automated systems and advanced software packages for structure solution and refinement. Moreover, undergraduate students who register to do research in the X-ray lab learn current best practices for crystal structure determination.
The proposal is aimed at enhancing research and education at all levels. It especially impacts the design and syntheses of precursors for deposition of inorganic materials and the determination of mesoscale order in organic films via hydrogen bond directed topology. The instrument is also used in the identification of transition metal clusters that behave as single-molecule magnets and aids in characterizing products of click synthesis of metallopolymers and highly emissive materials. The diffractometer is also useful in the search for anticancer agents from marine cyanobacteria. This instrument also serves investigators developing strategies for the functionalization of amines and preparing chiral biaryl heterocycles as ligands for enantioselective catalysis. The instrumentation is also used in the study of chemical probes to determine the structure and mechanism of nonribosomal peptide biosynthesis.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCED AS A RESULT OF THIS RESEARCH
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PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Intellectual Merit
Progress in chemistry research depends on reliable information about the structures of molecules. The gold standard for structural information is a molecular geometry obtained by X-ray diffraction from a single crystal. This award resulted in purchase of a Bruker D8 Venture X-ray diffractometer for determination of molecular structures in single crystals. Additionally, our existing instrument was upgraded with an advanced Photon II detector. The Venture is a significant upgrade from our ten-year-old previous instrument. Our new capabilities include studying smaller crystals of 50 microns in diameter and collection of data from all samples at a faster rate. Almost all of our data collections now take a few hours or less, and result in higher resolution data in addition to the faster collection time. The instrument has produced structural data for research projects in areas such as magnetism, materials for the semiconductor industry, organic polymers, enzyme modeling, catalysts, synthesis of drug candidates, and environmental chemistry. In addition to collecting data on straightforward projects in around 30 minutes, the new instrument has already provided high resolution data on very high nuclearity heavy metal Ce, Bi, Pb and Au clusters that could not be studied with our previous instrument.
In addition to the single crystal structure determination, we have expanded the use of our D8 Venture instrument to collect more data sets from powder samples of materials. We have dedicated one day of the week to work on powder diffraction experiments, which have been successful due to the intensity of our Cu X-ray radiation and speed of powder data collections. We have also worked on small angle diffraction of surface materials studies in collaboration with a research group from our physics department.
Broader Impacts
The speed with which we collect higher resolution data has afforded us more time to train graduate students to use the X-ray facility instruments. As a result, more students volunteer to work in the X-ray lab on a regular basis. In doing so, they expand their hands-on instrument experience and their career opportunities. In addition, we also offer a course in X-ray crystallography. In Spring 2020, 21 graduate students in the course had the opportunity to use either the newly installed D8 Venture single crystal diffractometer with a Photon III detector, or our upgraded, older DUO xray instrument with a new Photon II detector, and two microscopes. As a result of having two instruments with modern detectors and software, students had more microscope time and instrument time. Because of the speed at which we now collect data, students had the opportunity to solve two crystal structures before working on their independent final project.
In addition, we use the new instrument to provide service to small colleges in Florida and Georgia, and to help small research groups from outside the United States who cannot afford to maintain X-ray labs.
Last Modified: 08/31/2021
Modified by: Lisa Mcelwee-White
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