Curtis Anderson Publishes Paper in JACS

January 27, 2016 by chemweb

Curtis Anderson, a third year graduate student in the Long Research Group, recently published a paper titled “Redox-Active Ligands: An Advanced Tool To Modulate Polyethylene Microstructure“ in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, the flagship journal of the American Chemical Society.

Anderson’s research is focused on the development and utilization of transition metal-based catalysts bearing redox-active ligands. In this report, Anderson found that a particular class of well-known nickel-based catalysts could readily be reduced in situ, providing a controllable and predictable route to polymers with tailored branching content. “This work represents the first example of using a single catalyst to generate more than one distinct polymer microstructure using redox-activity,” said Anderson. This work was performed by Anderson, along with Dr. Jennifer Rhinehart and Professor Brian Long of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Professor Andrew Tennyson, an assistant professor at Clemson University.

“For years, researchers have probed the effects of ligand electronics in catalytic olefin polymerization by meticulously synthesizing libraries of discrete catalysts,” said Long. “While those studies are foundational to our work, Curtis’ recent report provides fundamental, proof-of-principle evidence that the catalytic activity and reactivity of a single olefin polymerization catalyst can be easily modulated via the addition or removal of a single electron.”

JACS is the world’s preeminent journal in all of chemistry and interfacing areas of science. It is devoted to the publication of fundamental research papers and publishes approximately 19,000 pages of Articles, Communications, and Perspectives a year. Published weekly, JACS provides research essential to the field of chemistry.*

Anderson was raised in Hiram, Georgia. He obtained a B.S. in Chemistry from Southern Polytechnic State University in Marietta, GA. During his time at SPSU, Anderson performed undergraduate research in forensics under Dr. Wei Zhou. Following that experience, he worked for Dr. Rajnish Singh, studying the interaction of cancer cells with natural antioxidants. Anderson joined the Department of Chemistry at UTK in Fall 2013 to pursue a Ph.D. degree in inorganic chemistry and became a member of the Long’s Research Group in December, 2013. His current research focuses on homogeneous catalysis for polyolefins.

*From JACS website

Chemistry Graduate Student’s Manuscript Accepted at Nano Letters

January 5, 2016 by chemweb

Kenneth O’Neal, a fourth year graduate student in Musfeldt’s Group, first-authored a manuscirpt that was accepted at Nano Letters, a monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by American Chemical Society.

O’Neal’s study, titled “High pressure vibrational properties of WS₂ nanotubes“, focuses on the high-pressure response of Tungsten Disulfide (WS₂) nanotubes. “WS₂ nanotubes are some of the world’s best solid-state lubricants.” O’Neal said. “We used the synchrotron light source at Brookhaven National Lab to take infrared spectra of the nanotubes with up to 20 GPa of applied pressure, as well as Raman data to the same pressures. Comparing the two techniques revealed that a Raman-active mode is twice as pressure sensitive as every other mode, making it a strong candidate as part of the nanotube breakdown pathway. We also observed some percolation effects as the nanotubes were compressed.”

Nano Letters publishes studies in all branches of the theory and practice of nanoscience and nanotechnology. Nano Letters ranked number four among journals in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology based on its 2013 impact factor of 12.94, and ranked number one based on its 2013 Eigenfactor® Score of 0.37484. “It is quite exciting to be accepted at such a high profile journal.” O’Neal said.

O’Neal obtained his Bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Baldwin-Wallace University. After working an entry-level industry job, O’Neal joined the Department of Chemistry in 2011 to purse a Ph.D. degree in physical chemistry. His current research focuses on two main areas: (i) size-dependent optical properties of nanoparticles and (ii) structure-property relations in molecule-based magnets. O’Neal has been the main student involved in Musfeldt’s research group’s new high pressure spectroscopy initiative.