Put generally, the work I have conducted in my time at Oregon State University has been to answer two questions. The first of these is “Why do I get this particular product from this particular chemical reaction?” and the second is “How do the reagents in this chemical reaction lead...
Two related techniques, based upon ion-exchange solid phase extraction, have been
developed for the determination of arsenic speciation. The inorganic arsenic species
arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)) are separated by anion-exchange and detected with
graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry (GFAAS) with a nickel matrix
modifier. The first separation technique, which...
The fusion reaction ²⁰⁸Pb (⁵⁰Ti, xn) ²⁵⁸⁻x Rf (x = 1-3) was studied to determine PCN (probability that the mononucleus system evolves to form a compound nucleus inside the fission saddle point) and to establish the value of Wsur (survival probability) for the given reaction experimentally. The fission excitation function...
The yields of 235 projectile-like and target-like fragments from the interaction of ¹³⁶Xe with a thick target of ²⁰⁸Pb at a center-of-mass energy, E[subscript cm], of 450 MeV were measured using γ-γ-γ coincidence data from Gammasphere and off-line γ-ray spectroscopy. The results give an expansive picture of the production cross...
A fiber optic fluorometer utilizing a double-fiber optic probe
was constructed. The absolute fluorescence signal and effective
collection efficiency are approximately one fifth those of typical
cuvette fluorometers and agree with those predicted by theory. A
quinine sulfate calibration curve shows linearity from a detection
limit of 10 pg/mL to...
An automated instrument based on a single-board microcomputer
was developed for use in voltammetric analyses. Operator input of
numerous experiment parameters allows any type of voltammetric
analysis to be implemented and multiple scans to be run unattended.
A three operational amplifier potentiostat is used to control
the cell voltage and...
Neptunium, with its rich redox chemistry, has a special position in the chemistry of actinides. With a decades-long history of development of aqueous separation methods for used nuclear fuel (UNF), management of neptunium remains an unresolved issue because of its not clearly defined redox speciation. Neptunium is present in two,...
Novel ternary graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) of alkali metal cations
and a wide variety of amines have been synthesized by one-pot chemical syntheses.
Alkali metals studied includes Li, Na and K. The families of amines employed are nalkylamines,
branched alkylamines, and different structural isomers of diamines and
polyamines. Intragallery structures...
In this dissertation, my research work on excited state dynamics of small organic molecules in solutions is presented. Using femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (FSRS) as the main experimental tool, the excited state hydrogen-bonding dynamics (ESHBD) of Coumarin 102, a common laser dye molecule, in ethanol solution is examined with <150...