Summer Research
Faculty Research Interests
William M. Davis, Associate Professor and Chair
Current research objectives are the theoretical characterization of chemically interesting species such as free radicals, high temperature molecules and ions. Students interested in these types of project are encouraged to pick their own chemical system of interest. High level
ab initio quantum chemical calculations are carried out to aid in the characterization of the molecules of interest. Collaborations with experimentalists are always welcome.
A second area of research involves the analysis of toxins present in consumer products. We are currently looking at the mercury content of skin whitening creams. A further area of study will include the analysis of children's fruit drinks for the presence of lead.
Back to top John V. McClusky, Professor and Associate Provost
Electrophilic addition to conjugated dienyl ethers often passes through the
much less stable carbocation intermediate. Our work to synthesize related analogues to the ethers has been challenging. Elimination of 1,2,3-tribromocyclohexane to form isomeric bromocyclohexadienes has been successfully completed with LDA; work is now in progress to purify the product and examine its addition chemistry. The synthesis of 1,3-cyclohexadienyl ethyl sulfide is progressing. 2-cyclohexenyl ethyl sulfide has been synthesized in high yield and purity; however, elimination of 2,3-dibromocyclohexyl ethyl sulfide and 1- and 3-bromocyclohexenyl ethyl sulfide are quite sluggish. We are continuing our work to solve these problems.
Nanocomposite polymers have received a great deal of interest in the past several years due to their exceptionally high toughness and strength, especially for polyolefin and nylon polymers. Attempts to develop nanocomposite polyurethanes, however, have met with mixed success. We have synthesized a variety of hydroxy-functionalized ammonium clays and incorporated them into polyurethane polymers. The polymers contained polyols with high and low hydrophobicity, and varying amounts of butanediol chain extender. In all cases these new organoclays roughly doubled the percent elongation and tensile strength of the polymers with minimal effect on the Young’s modulus. We were very surprised to discover that the presence of hard segment is critical for increased properties: polymers with the organoclays yet without the typical chain extender had properties and very close to the control samples. Finally, these organoclays improve the physical properties in polyurethanes both with and without hard domains.
Back to top Santiago Toledo, Assistant Professor
Dr. Toledo's research interest is the biomimetic modeling of metalloenzymes, specifically those containing nickel and zinc metals.His research consists of developing new organic ligand systems and synthesizing the corresponding nickel and zinc complexes in order to study the metal compounds properties and biomimetic relevance.
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Mitchell R. White, Visiting Assistant Professor
Current research interests lie in adiabatic temperature rise (ATR) calorimetry on polyurethane foam systems of industrial importance. This research includes building innovative calorimeters and measuring heat flow, kinetics and thermodynamics to probe catalytic mechanisms of polymer formation.
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Chemistry Summer Research Gallery
Our 2010 Summer Research Students:
Kyle Hilsberg, Chris Jacobsen, T.J. Perryman, Clint Taylor, Mary Rosegrant, Hannah Reeves, Nick Kubelka, and Kyle Coleman |
Inorganic Synthesis | 
Computational Chemistry |
Calorimetry of Polyurethanes | 
Calorimetry of Polyurethanes |
Inorganic Synthesis | 
Analysis of Mercury in Skin Creams |
NMR work on synthesized compounds | 
One afternoon out of the lab for tubing! |
Floating down the San Marcos River |  |
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