Jay Amicangelo
Pennsylvania State University, PA·Chemistry
When hydrogen atoms add to benzene rings, they form short-lived hydrogenated aromatic radicals. These reactive molecules are thought to be key intermediates in combustion, pyrolysis (breaking down material with heat), hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis.
- Fields
Chemistry
- Topics
matrix isolation
infrared spectroscopy
IR spectroscopy
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2027
What they work on
- Record infrared spectra of hydrogenated radicals formed from hydrogen atoms and monosubstituted benzenes (X = OCH3, CH3, Cl, CN), trapped in 15 K argon matrices using a microwave discharge hydrogen source.
- Measure how fast these radicals form by trapping hydrogen atoms in argon at 10 K, then monitoring radical growth as hydrogen reacts with the rings between 14 and 20 K.
- Use quantum chemical calculations alongside the measured spectra to identify and characterize the hydrogenated aromatic radicals.
More about the research
They exist only briefly, so few of their infrared spectra or formation rates at low temperature have been measured. Without that data, chemists cannot fully understand the role these radicals play.
Why it matters
Infrared spectra and low-temperature formation rates for these radicals could clarify how aromatic compounds change during combustion, pyrolysis and hydrogenation. The data could help synthetic, mechanistic and computational chemists understand and model these reactions more accurately. It could also serve as reference data for identifying these short-lived intermediates in other experiments.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
Pennsylvania State University: 60 labs on PI Pages, $1.3B a year on research, 743 research doctorates a year.
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