Thomas W. Nalli - Undergraduate Research

Chemistry 430 Syllabus         Current Efforts  (see below)       Former Research Students

My research group currently consists of four undergraduate students, Erin McMahon, Greg Latus, Saluja Mahabamunuge, and Steven Klankowski.

Erin and Greg are both starting a project to measure rate constants for reactions of phenyl radicals in solution with biomolecules. Greg is looking at thymidine as the biomolecule, using it as a model for nucleic acids. Erin plans to look at aromatic amino acids. p-tert-Butylphenyl radicals will be generated by the radical chain reaction of triphenylphosphine with bis(p-tert-butylphenyl)iodonium hexafluorophosphate. The phenyl radicals will be allowed to partition between reaction with the phosphine (literature rate constant, k = 3 x 10⁸ M^-1 s^-1) and reaction with the biomolecule. Integration of the t-butyl protons peaks in the NMR will reveal the partition ratio and thus the rate constants of interest.

Saluja will be continuing my group's studies aimed at the formation of novel polyphosphonium salts. One experiment she intends to try is will attempt to react bisiodonium salt (1)  with 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)benzene (2)  to form a phosphonium polymer (3).

Steven is carrying out a systematic NMR study of a large set of subsituted benzoic acids. He is obtaining¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra. We plan to make the FID files available on the Web and will be carrying out 2D experiments as necessary to confirm literature peak assignments.