“vassar’s new x-ray diffractometer: Structural Diversity in NANOPOROUS Titanium Aryloxide Metal-Organic NetworkS”

Dr. Joseph M. Tanski

Department of Chemistry , Vassar College

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 at Marist College,  Lecture: 7:00 PM, Room: 007,  Lowell Thomas Communications Center

 

Contact Neil Fitzgerald (Marist) at 845-575-3000 ext. 2491 or by e-mail at Neil.Fitzgerald@marist.edu.

About the lecture: Chiral nanoporous metal-organic coordination network (MOCN) materials have emerged as an active area of research in the field of crystalline materials engineering.  Such materials have potential application as tunable heterogeneous asymmetric catalysts.  A key feature of MOCN materials is that considerable structural predictive ability exists over traditional solid-state inorganic compounds in their design.  A new CCD X-ray diffractometer has made the necessary structural work possible at Vassar.  Crystallography and the instrument itself will be discussed in the context of current work on the synthesis and characterization of a unique class of covalent early transition metal aryloxide MOCN compounds.  Diverse network architectures are obtained based on different 4,4’-bisphenoxide bridging ligands.  The reaction of Ti(OR)4 (R = isopropyl, S-(+)-2-butyl) with a dihydroxy functionalized organic spacer (4,4'-biphenol, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfide, bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane) in various solvents (ether, tetrahydrofuran or pyridine) at 130˚ C affords microcrystalline materials which have been characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction.  These include a homochiral three-dimensional coordination polymer from 4,4'-biphenol, {[Ti(OC6H4C6H4O)1.5(O-(S)-(+)-2-Bu)(HO-(S)-(+)-2-Bu)]2}n, and several polymers derived from bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)sulfide, including a three-dimensional network {[Ti(OC6H4SH2C6H4O)2]2}n, two-dimensional sheet {[Ti(OC6H4SH2C6H4O)2(THF)2­]2}n and a one-dimensional chain, [Ti(OC6H4SC6H4O)2(py)2]n.  In order to probe how the structural features of the dihydroxy spacer ligand precursors may affect MOCN structure, the X-ray structures of Bisphenol-A (bis(4-hydroxyphyl)-2-propane) and three of its derivatives have been determined.  The results show that the Caryl-E-Caryl angle (where E = S, 104.21(4)º; C(CH3)2, 108.9(7)º; CH2, 114.85(7)º; O, 118.8(1)º) may be integral in controlling network dimensionality and topology in metal-aryloxide networks obtained from derivatives of Bisphenol-A.

About the speaker: Dr. Tanski earned his A.B. in chemistry from Vassar College in 1995. He received a Ph.D. from Cornell University in 2000, after working in the field of inorganic chemistry with Peter T. Wolczanski. After completing a postdoctoral appointment with Gerard Parkin at Columbia University , Dr. Tanski spent time as a substitute assistant professor at the City University of New York’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice before returning to Vassar as an assistant professor in 2003. Currently, Dr. Tanski is serving as a Member-At-Large of the Mid-Hudson Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS). At Vassar, Dr. Tanski is the Assistant Director of the Undergraduate Research Summer Institute (URSI), serves as a member of the Pre-Medical Advisory Committee, and is the Principal Investigator on a grant from the National Science Foundation supporting a single crystal X-ray diffraction facility.

Directions: Marist College is located at 3399 North Road , just off Rte. 9, approximately 1 mile north of the Mid-Hudson Bridge in Poughkeepsie , NY .   Detailed directions are available at www.marist.edu/welcome/direct.html/.

For a campus map, please visit www.marist.edu/welcome/map.html.

“An Industrial Chemist’s Perspective of the Alkylation of Naphthalene from Laboratory to Pilot Plant”

  Mr. Richard Abramshe

King Industries, Norwalk CT

 Wednesday, March 14, 2007, SUNY New Paltz, Lecture: 7:00 PM, Room: Coykendall Science Building (CSB) Rm 320

Contact: Dr. Dan Freedman (freedmad@newpaltz.edu, 845-257-3795)

About the lecture: Alkylated naphthalenes are a unique class of synthetic fluids with outstanding thermo-oxidative stability relative to conventional mineral base oils and many synthetic fluids, such as esters and poly-alpha-olefins.  This talk will discuss the relationship between the general structure of the alkylated naphthalene and its physical and chemical properties. In particular, various structural characteristics, such as the alkyl chain length, alkyl chain branching, and number of alkyl groups on the naphthalene ring, will be correlated to properties such as thermo-oxidative stability, viscosity, viscosity index, pour point and solubility parameter. Additionally a general discussion of the challenges an industrial chemist encounters during transition from laboratory to the pilot plant.   

About the speaker: Mr. Abramshe is currently employed as a Process Development chemist for King Industries located in Norwalk, Ct. In his current position he is responsible for the scale-up of industrial processes from the laboratory to pilot plant scale, up to 500 gallons. He received his BS in Chemistry from Marist College in 1995. He has previously worked for First Brands Corporation and Texaco Chemical Corporation before joining King Industries in 1996. He currently resides in Esopus , NY with his family.

Directions to SUNY New Paltz: Take I-87 to Exit 18 and turn left at the traffic light after the toll plaza (Rte. 299). From Rte. 299, turn left at the third traffic light onto S. Manheim Blvd. (Rte. 32 South). Turn right onto Mohonk Ave. East . For complete directions and campus map, visit http://www.newpaltz.edu/about/directions.html.

 

"8th Annual ACS Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium "

Wednesday, April 25, 2007 , 3:30 – 8:00 PM , Students Center , Vassar College

Poster Session:  4:00-5:15 PM

Talk:  5:30 PM

Dinner:  6:30 PM

 

Guest Speaker: Dr. Thomas Mallouk

 

The Mid-Hudson Section of the American Chemical Society is pleased to announce the eighth annual Undergraduate Chemistry Research Symposium to be held at Vassar College on Wednesday, April 25, from 3:30 PM to 8:00 PM .  The symposium provides a chance for area undergraduate students in the chemical sciences to present their research.  All areas of chemistry, environmental science, molecular biology, and related fields are welcome. The poster presentations will be held from 4:00-5:15 PM , followed by a guest speaker at 5:30 PM . 

 

The Symposium: The symposium will be held from 3:30-8:00 PM in the Student Center in the All-Campus Dinning Center (ACDC) at Vassar on the second floor.  Set-up must be completed by 4:00 PM .  As in previous years, all research will be presented as posters.  To present a poster, please submit an abstract of 200 words or less.  The format for the abstract should adhere as closely as possible to the following guidelines: 1) 12 point Times-Roman font, 2) One inch margins, 3) MS Word document, 4) The abstract title should be typed in capital letters, followed by the authors' names and institution name, institution address, and telephone number in lower case letters.  Advisor’s name should be followed by an asterisk (*).  Please submit the abstract no later than Friday, April 13 by e-mail or diskette to Dr. Joe Tanski.  If you are unable to meet this deadline, please contact Dr. Tanski by phone or e-mail.  Poster easels will be available for the first 35 participants; tables will also be available.  Your poster should be self-supported on cardboard or posterboard backing.  The standard size for ACS posters is 48 inches wide by 36 inches high.   You will be contacted before the symposium to confirm acceptance of your abstract. Please note:  there will be a $25 conference fee per poster up to $100 maximum per school.

Please submit your abstract, via e-mail or diskette, to:

Dr. Joe Tanski

Department of Chemistry

Vassar College , Box 601

124 Raymond Avenue

Poughkeepsie , NY 12604

Phone: 845-437-7503

E-mail: jotanski@vassar.edu

 

Dinner:  Please make reservations with Dr. Joe Tanski by Friday, April 13.  Dinner will be at 6:30 PM in the same building, the All-Campus Dinning Center (ACDC) on the first floor.

 

Directions:  Vassar College is located off Raymond Avenue in Poughkeepsie , NY .  Refer to the following link for driving directions and campus map: http://www.vassar.edu/directions/.  Enter the Main Entrance of the campus on Raymond Avenue and go left to find the North Parking lot.  The All-Campus Dinning Center is adjacent to this lot. The Security Guard at the Main Entrance will direct you to parking. The Student Center is on the second floor of the All-Campus Dinning Center .

 

About the Speaker: Dr. Mallouk is the DuPont Professor of Materials Chemistry and Physics and the Director of the Center for Nanoscale Science at Penn State .  His research focuses on the assembly of nanoscale materials and their applications to interesting problems in chemistry, including photocatalysis, molecular electronics, environmental remediation, fuel cell electrochemistry, chemical sensing, and catalytically driven movement.

 

"Microwaves for Fast, Clean, Easy Organic Synthesis"

Dr. Nicholas Leadbeater, Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut

Wednesday, May 9th, 2007, Room 303, Aqunias Hall, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, New York

About the lecture: Microwave heating offers a way to make molecules quickly, easily and cleanly. In this presentation, microwave promoted synthesis of a range of organic compounds will be discussed as well as the challenges 
facing chemists wanting to use microwave chemistry to make large quantities of their target compounds. In addition to the application of microwave heating to the preparation of pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals, the fast easy 
and rapid synthesis of the valuable biofuel biodiesel will also be showcased.
About the speaker: 
01/2004 - present, University of Connecticut, USA. Assistant Professor
09/1999 - 12/2003 King's College London, UK. Royal Society University Fellow & Lecturer
09/1996 - 08/1999 Cambridge University, UK. University Research Fellow
09/1993 - 08/1996 Cambridge University, UK. Ph.D.
09/1990 - 08/1993 Nottingham University, UK. B.Sc.
Our research group of one postdoctoral worker, five graduate students and a number of undergraduates at the Universityof Connecticut are recognized as one of the best equipped laboratories in the world in the area of microwave-promoted synthesis. 
Through close links with the major scientific microwave manufacturers we have access to the majority of the commercially available apparatus as well as acting as a site for new product development. 
We currently have nine different microwave systems in our laboratories. For more information on our equipment and our publications see our research group website:
http://chemistry.uconn.edu/leadbeater.html  or  http://homepages.uconn.edu/~nil03002 
Contact: Lynn Maelia at 845-569-3131 or by e-mail at maelia@msmc.edu

Directions: Mount Saint Mary College is located at 330 Powell Avenue in Newburgh, NY. For additional information visit http://www.msmc.edu. Take I-84E to Exit 10. At thebottom of the ramp take a right onto 9W South.(From the East, take I-84W to the second exit after the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge (Exit 10S). At the bottom of the ramp, turn right onto Rte. 32 and then another right at the first traffic light onto 9W South.) From 9W South, turn left onto North Plank Road (south of the I-84 overpass). Stay on North Plank Road 1/4 mile and turn right at the first traffic light onto Powell Avenue. The College is 1/4 mile on the left.