Two UCA chemistry professors recently received the largest pure research grant ever awarded by the National Science Foundation to UCA.
The NSF will give Patrick Desrochers and Richard Tarkka of the UCA Department of Chemistry a three-year research grant totaling $252,041 for their collaborative project entitled, “Reactivity, Spectroscopic, and Sensing Properties of Nickel Complexes on Solid Organic Supports,” which will combine the expertise of their respective labs: nickel coordination chemistry (Desrochers) and polymer/combinatorial methods (Tarkka). They will develop new polystyrene-based anchors for nickel so that the unique properties of this metal can be utilized in applications that include protein purification, sensors for amino acids and ammonia, and catalytic processes. These anchored nickel materials will be reusable and therefore recyclable, improving their utility and reducing their operating cost.
This award is also funding the acquisition of state-of-art research equipment, including an oxygen/moisture-free glove box and an ultraviolet/visible diffuse reflectance attachment (DRA). In addition to allowing light absorption measurements on the solids developed for this project, the DRA can also record light absorption properties of other solids like leaf surfaces, cell cultures, and paintings. The DRA makes the measurements without damaging the sample.
Another significant outcome of this work will be the training of the UCA undergraduates in chemical research, a tradition for this department, making these students competitive in graduate science programs nationwide.
