UO Biochemistry major Caitlyn Fields will present her research at the 2016 McNair Scholars Symposium on Wednesday, February 10th, at 2pm in room 72 PLC.
Every February, the University of Oregon celebrates the research achievements of its McNair Scholars during the McNair Symposium. These achievements are made possible by faculty mentors who guide Scholars through scholarship activities and help prepare them for the challenges and culture of graduate school.
McNair Scholars participate in paid summer research internships in their fields of study. During the internships, students are involved in original research culminating in a presentation of their findings. Held winter term, the McNair Symposium provides a public forum for students to share their work with peers, mentors, faculty and staff, family members, and the general public.
Group 13 metal clusters have been of interest in both materials chemistry and geochemistry because they are naturally occurring and make excellent precursors to thin films for various devices, such as solar cells and laptops. Unfortunately, the solution dynamics of these clusters are not well known; therefore a solution study of these clusters may give insight to both the naturally occurring mechanism of synthesis as well as assist in finding more efficient ways to manufacture the clusters for use in devices. Oliveri et al. identified simple and unique 1H-NMR spectra for gallium species clusters, making it possible for this study to characterize them even further with kinetic and thermodynamic data. Variable Temperature Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (VT-NMR) spectroscopy experiments were carried out on the Ga13 and Ga7In6 clusters in an effort to extract the μ2 int proton peak expansion. The rate constant k was extrapolated from the FWHM of this peak. The change in entropy and enthalpy of the transition states were calculated using k and the Eyring equation.