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N-Heterocyclic Carbenes of the Late Transition Metals: A Computational and Structural Database Study

Description: A computational chemistry analysis combined with a crystallographic database study of the bonding in late transition metal N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complexes is reported. The results illustrate a metal-carbon bond for these complexes, approximately 4% shorter than that of a M-C single bond found in metal alkyl complexes. As a consequence of this result, two hypotheses are investigated. The first hypothesis explores the possibility of multiple-bond character in the metal-carbon linkage of t… more
Date: May 2005
Creator: Baba, Eduard
open access

Metals in Chemistry and Biology: Computational Chemistry Studies

Description: Numerous enzymatic reactions are controlled by the chemistry of metallic ions. This dissertation investigates the electronic properties of three transition metal (copper, chromium, and nickel) complexes and describes modeling studies performed on glutathione synthetase. (1) Copper nitrene complexes were computationally characterized, as these complexes have yet to be experimentally isolated. (2) Multireference calculations were carried out on a symmetric C2v chromium dimer derived from the crys… more
Date: May 2007
Creator: Dinescu, Adriana
open access

Solution Studies of ⁶Li Enriched Organolithium Compounds Using New NMR Techniques

Description: With the values of 6Li T1 measured and the literature values of J(13C-6Li) for these compounds, three new 13C NMR techniques are developed for the analysis of organolithium compounds. Modifications to the spectrometer are discussed, as well as calibrations of the 6Li decoupler channel needed to set up these new experiments. The theoretical development of each technique is presented, as well as data from their verification, using organolithium compounds of known structure. Once qualified, the ne… more
Date: May 1990
Creator: Ellington, Donald H. (Donald Howard)
open access

Modeling Transition Metal Catalysts for Small Molecule Activation and Functionalization

Description: There is a high demand for the development of processes for the conversion of ubiquitous molecules into industrially useful commodities. Transition metal catalysts are often utilized for the activation and functionalization of small organic molecules due to their diverse nature and proven utility with a myriad of chemical transformations. The functionalization of methane (CH4) and dinitrogen (N2) to methanol (CH3OH) and ammonia (NH3) respectively is of particular interest; however, both methane… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Figg, Travis M.
open access

The Mechanisms of Human Glutathione Synthetase and Related Non-Enyzmatic Catalysis

Description: Human glutathione synthetase (hGS) is a homodimeric enzymes that catalyzes the second step in the biological synthesis of glutathione, a critical cellular antioxidant. The enzyme exhibits negative cooperativity towards the γ-glutamylcysteine (γ-GC) substrate. In this type of allosteric regulation, the binding of γ-GC at one active site significantly reduces substrate affinity at a second active site over 40 Å away. The presented work explores protein-protein interactions, substrate binding, and… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Ingle, Brandall L.
open access

Exploring Inorganic Catalysis with Electronic Structure Simulations

Description: Organometallic catalysis has attracted significant interest from both industry and academia due to its wide applications in organic synthetic transformations. Example of such transformations include the reaction of a zinc carbenoid with olefins to form cyclopropanes. The first project is a computational study using both density functional and correlated wavefunction methods of the reaction between ethylene and model zinc carbenoid, nitrenoid and oxenoid complexes (L-Zn-E-X, E = CH2, NH or O, L … more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Khani, Sarah Karbalaei
open access

Pathways for C—H Activation and Functionalization by Group 9 Metals

Description: As fossil fuel resources become more and more scarce, attention has been turned to alternative sources of fuels and energy. One promising prospect is the conversion of methane (natural gas) to methanol, which requires an initial activation of a C-H bond and subsequent formation of a C-O bond. The most well studied methodologies for both C-H activation and C-O bond formation involve oxidation of the metal center. Metal complexes with facile access to oxidation states separated by four charge uni… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Pahls, Dale R.
open access

Layered Double Hydroxides as Anion- and Cation-Exchanging Materials

Description: Layered double hydroxides (LDH) have been principally known as anion-exchanging, clay-like materials for several decades, and continues to be the main driving force for current and future research. The chemical interactions of LDH, with transition metallocyanides, have been a popular topic of investigation for many years, partly due to the use of powder x-ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy as the main characterization tools. Each transition metallocyanide has a characteristic infrared st… more
Date: May 2007
Creator: Richardson, Mickey Charles
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