Acquisition of an X-Ray Diffractometer

With support from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities (CRIF) Program, the Department of Chemistry at Pennsylvania State University will acquire a X-ray diffractometer with CCD detector and stereo microscope for small molecule diffractometry. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas including the following: single crystal and fiber diffraction of phosphazene-based compounds and molecular inclusion clathrates; design and characterization of multi-dimensional covalent networks; novel methods of molecular recognition and the preparation of fluorescent chemical sensors; structural relationships between bioinorganic analogues and metalloprotein active sites; molecular recognition and artificial photosynthesis in lamellar and zeolitic solids; relating structural details to the mechanistic aspects of organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis; structural characterization of complex natural products and their synthetic precursors; and structure-function relationships in enantioselective catalysts.

The X-ray diffractometer allows accurate and precise measurements of the full three dimensional structure of a molecule, including bond distances and angles, and it provides accurate information about the spatial arrangement of the molecule relative to the neighboring molecules. These studies will have an impact in a number of areas, including the preparation of more efficient catalysts, chemical sensors, and biochemistry.