AER/I Seminar
About the event
Speaker: Cassie Bailey
Group: Dr. Brian Clowers
Tittle: Applications of Kendrick Mass Defect Analysis
Abstract: High-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) can easily achieve resolution within a single atomic mass unit (amu). As a result, HRMS can provide useful hints about molecular structure. Analysis of HRMS data can pose issues when spectra become congested with thousands of peaks. Identification of ions in such complex data sets can cause ambiguity of results, especially with a limited number of standards. Kendrick mass defect (KMD) analysis is used to visually simplify large data sets. In KMD analysis, the exact mass of the analyte is multiplied by the ratio of the nominal mass over the exact mass of a repeating base unit. This is called the Kendrick exact mass. The Kendrick exact mass is then subtracted from the nominal mass of the compound to obtain the Kendrick mass defect. If the Kendrick mass defect is plotted on the y axis and the m/z on the x, homologous series will align horizontally. The nature of Kendrick mass defect analysis allows for applications in any type of polymer analysis. This includes the analysis of lipids, nucleic acids, lignin and other biopolymers, PFAS, plastics, and hydrocarbons.
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Speaker: Motunrade Adeleye
Title: Catalytic Applications of Isoreticular Metal Organic Frameworks in Organic reactions
Abstract: Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a class of crystalline porous materials consisting of metal ions or clusters coordinated to organic ligands. Isoreticular MOFs (IRMOFs) are a series of topologically similar MOF structures created by using ligands of different lengths. This allows the pore size to be systematically varied from 3Å to 28Å while maintaining the overall topology. IRMOFs offer extremely high surface areas of up to 5900 m2/g. IRMOFs have shown promise as heterogeneous catalysts for various organic reactions due to their high surface area, tunable pore structure, and functionalizable sites. For example, amino-functionalized IRMOF-3 (pore size 9.8Å, surface area 4100 m2/g) has been used to catalyze Knoevenagel condensation reactions of various aldehydes and malononitrile with yields up to 99%. The confinement effect of the pore structure led to selectivity for a single mono-Knoevenagel product. Other catalytic applications include using a copper-containing IRMOF (pore size 6.7Å) for azide-alkyne cycloaddition click reactions under solvent-free conditions, giving yields up to 94%. The systematic tunability and functionality of IRMOFs make them promising heterogeneous catalysts and support diverse organic reactions. Further development of IRMOF-based catalysts could enable shape- and size-selective synthesis, enhancing efficiency and selectivity in fine chemicals production. This talk will cover key recent catalytic applications of some selected IRMOFs in organic reactions such as Friedel-Craft reaction and Knoevenagel condensation reaction.