Emily Norwine (Class of ’18)
Dual oxidase/oxygenase reactivity and resonance Raman spectra of {Cu3O2} moiety with perfluoro-t-butoxide ligands A Cu(I) fully fluorinated O-donor monodentate alkoxide complex, K[Cu(OC4F9)2], was previously shown to form a trinuclear copper–dioxygen species with a {Cu3(μ3-O)2} core, TOC4F9, upon reactivity with O2 at low temperature. Herein is reported a significantly expanded kinetic and mechanistic study of TOC4F9 formation using stopped-flow spectroscopy. […]
Linda Zuckerman (Class of ’20)
Heterobimetallic {PtMn} and {PtFe} lantern complexes with exceptionally long metallophilic contacts A new series of heterobimetallic lantern complexes, [PtM(SAc)4(pySMe)] (M = Mn (1), Fe (2), Co (3), Ni (4), Zn (5)), as well as additions to the previously reported series, [PtM(SAc)4(pyNH2)] (M = Mn (6), Fe (7)), have been synthesized and thoroughly characterized. Notably, compounds 1 and 6 are the first crystallographically characterized, […]
Jeremy Weber (Class of ’16)
Luminescence of Lanthanide Complexes with Perfluorinated Alkoxide Ligands Four groups of rare-earth complexes, comprising 11 new compounds, with fluorinated O-donor ligands ([K(THF)6][Ln(OC4F9)4(THF)2] (1-Ln; Ln = Ce, Nd), [K](THF)x[Ln(OC4F9)4(THF)y] (2-Ln; Ln = Eu, Gd, Dy), [K(THF)2][Ln(pinF)2(THF)3] (3-Ln; Ln = Ce, Nd), and [K(THF)2][Ln(pinF)2(THF)2] (4-Ln; Ln = Eu, Gd, Dy, Y) have been synthesized and characterized. Single-crystal […]
Sydney Lagueux (Class of ’18)
Heterotrimetallic {LnOVPt} complexes with antiferromagnetic Ln–V coupling and magnetic memory The new PtVO(SOCR)4 lantern complexes, 1 (R = CH3) and 2 (R = Ph) behave as neutral O-donor ligands to Ln(OR)3 with Ln = Ce, Nd. Four heterotrimetallic complexes with linear {LnOVPt} units were prepared: [Ln(ODtbp)3{PtVO(SOCR)4}] (Ln = Ce, 3Ce (R = CH3), 4Ce (R = Ph); Nd, 3Nd (R = CH3), 4Nd (R = Ph); ODtbp = 2,6-ditertbutylphenolate). […]
Josh Nelson (Class of ’13)
Reversible PCET and Ambient Catalytic Oxidative Alcohol Dehydrogenation by {V=O} Perfluoropinacolate Complexes A new air-stable catalyst for the oxidative dehydrogenation of benzylic alcohols under ambient conditions has been developed. The synthesis and characterization of this compound and the related monomeric and dimeric V(IV)- and V(V)-pinF (pinF = perfluoropinacolate) complexes are reported herein. Monomeric V(IV) complex (Me4N)2[V(O)(pinF)2] (1) […]
Andrea Rustad (Class of ’19)
H-Activated Single Molecule Conductance and Binding Mechanism of Imidazole on Gold We identify imidazole as a pH-activated linker for forming stable single molecule–gold junctions with several distinct configurations and reproducible electrical characteristics. Using a scanning tunneling microscope break junction (STMBJ) technique, we find multiple robust conductance signatures at integer multiples of 1.9 × 10–2G0 and […]
Andrew Burwash (Class of ’18)
Molecular Insights into human hereditary apolipoprotein AI amyloidosis caused by the Glu34Lys mutation Hereditary apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) amyloidosis is a life-threatening incurable genetic disorder whose molecular underpinnings are unclear. In this disease, variant apoA-I, the major structural and functional protein of high-density lipoprotein, is released in a free form, undergoes an α-helix to intermolecular cross-β-sheet […]
Meera Kumanan (Class of ’20)
Structural basis for lipid binding and function by an evolutionarily conserved protein, Serum Amyloid A Serum amyloid A (SAA) is a plasma protein that transports lipids during inflammation. To explore SAA solution conformations and lipid-binding mechanism, we used hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry, lipoprotein reconstitution, amino acid sequence analysis, and molecular dynamics simulations. Solution conformations of […]
Patrick Williamson (Class of ’16)
Rapid Urinary Tract Infection Diagnostics by Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS): Identification and Antibiotic Susceptibilities SERS spectra of 12 bacterial strains of urinary tract infection (UTI) clinical isolates grown and enriched from urine are reported. A partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) classification treatment of these SERS spectra results in strain level identification with >95% sensitivity and >99% specificity. The classification […]
Shane Devlin (Class of ’18)
Anomalous pH-Dependent Surface Adsorption of p-Methyl Benzoic Acid: Enhancement Due to Cooperative Adsorption Vibrational sum-frequency generation (SFG) spectroscopy is used to determine the surface pKa of p-methyl benzoic acid (pMBA) at the air–water interface by monitoring the carbonyl and carboxylate stretching modes over the pH range of 2 to 12. The SFG intensities of pMBA and […]