Department of Chemistry

Undergraduate Program

Undergraduate Research Opportunities

The descriptions of undergraduate research projects given here have been supplied by Department of Chemistry faculty who are interested in having undergraduates work in their research groups. The list is not meant to be complete; other faculty certainly may welcome undergraduate research participants as well. Students interested in working on one of these projects or on similar projects should contact the appropriate faculty member directly. Once a research mentor has been selected, a student should see Prof. Adams (205 Schlundt) about enrolling in the appropriate research course (Chem 2950, 4950, or 4991H) if he/she wishes to obtain academic credit for the work.

For more information about faculty research interests, go to the Faculty Research Interests page or follow the links for individual faculty noted below.

Stevens' Summer Research Fellowships

The Department of Chemistry at the University of Missouri-Columbia sponsors a summer research program for outstanding undergraduate students. Applications will be accepted from those presently in their junior year of undergraduate study in chemistry and who are considering graduate studies. Exceptionally talented sophomores will also be considered. More info >>

Theoretical Studies of Solvation Phenomena

Prof. John E. Adams
205 Schlundt | 882-3245 | AdamsJE@missouri.edu | Professor Adams

One of the most fundamental processes studied in chemistry is solvation, i.e. the dissolving of one substance in another. Although the most general principles, such as "like dissolves like" are well understood, the actual details of the process are still much in doubt. I currently am particularly interested in two aspects of solvation. The first is solvation in small atomic and molecular clusters, in which we can examine the changes in the physical properties of a solute molecule as solvent molecules are added one by one, and we can correlate those changes with experimentally observable quantities. Second, I am interested in extending the methods we have developed for studying small clusters to the investigation of solvation by supercritical fluids. These systems are of great practical significance--supercritical CO2 is used to extract caffeine from green coffee beans, while supercritical water is used in the degradation of chemical warfare agents--but they are poorly characterized at the molecular level.

My group uses computer simulations to carry out studies of the above systems. Thus a student interested in pursuing this sort of research should have some familiarity with computers. Actual programming experience is a definite help but not a requirement. (Our programs are written in FORTRAN, which is a particularly easy language to learn.)

Projects that I would like to have an undergraduate pursue in the future are as follows.

In examining small clusters, we have been very successful in correlating changes in the electronic spectrum of a solute with variations in cluster structure. I would like to extend this work to the prediction of another experimental observable, the cluster ionization energy. Only a modest alteration of existing programs will be required to carry out this project.
I want to extend our cluster studies to systems involving larger solvent species, which may display a wider range of solvation behavior.
I want to extend current work on structured solvation environments in small clusters to the analogous bulk supercritical fluid systems.

Surface Chemistry of Organic Monolayers

Prof. C. Michael Greenlief
56 Chem | 882-3288 | GreenliefM@missouri.edu | Greenlief Group

In my laboratory, experimental work is being done in the area of surface chemistry. In particular the spectroscopy and kinetics of chemisorbed species on well-characterized surfaces is investigated. Interest is primarily on a molecular level regarding the structure and reactivity of species important in chemical reactions. One area of interest is the growth of ultra-thin films (2-10 atomic layers) on semiconductor surfaces from organic compounds. This is part of a larger study to make fundamental surface measurements of the reactions involved in growth of ordered-organic layers. These systems are examined by a variety of experimental techniques including photoelectron spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and low energy electron diffraction.

The Greenlief Research Group welcomes undergraduate research students and believes that the research laboratory experience is an invaluable part of your education. So much so, that undergraduate students may become co-authors on scientific publications. It is not necessary for you to have the research skills prior to becoming a member of this Research Group we will gladly train you.

Jurisson Projects

Prof. Silvia S. Jurisson
57 Chem | 882-2107 | JurissonS@missouri.edu | Professor Jurisson

The following projects are available for undergraduates:

  • NIH/NSF REU in Radiochemistry & Stevens' Fellows Program (Application)
  • Gold(III) Schiff base chemistry; potential use in radiotherapy
  • Ligand and Au(III) complex synthesis and characterization
  • Au-198 radiochemical synthesis and characterization
  • Stability studies of Au(III) complexes in pH 7.4 buffer
  • Stability/reactivity studies of Au(III) complexes to reducing agents

All of the above include some synthesis, characterization, analytical determinations, and may involve the use of radioisotopes. All of the above are amenable to summer projects. Combinations of the above may yield a project that requires the academic year to complete.

  • Technetium clathrochelate chemistry; potential application to radioenvironmental chemistry
  • Investigation of the complexation, using radiochemical techniques such as extraction, chromatography, etc., of pertechnetate with various ion pairing hosts. Important in these studies is the selectivity of the "host" for pertechnetate in the presence of various anions such as nitrate, sulfate, etc.
    This project can be carried out during either the summer or as an academic year project. The student will learn various radiochemical techniques and use them to analyze the solution chemistry of the pertechnetate with the particular host (e.g., crown ethers, supramolecular molecules, etc.). Perrhenate may be used in some instances as a chemical analog for Tc-99 that is not radioactive.
  • Rhenium and rodium chemistry with tetradentate phosphine-amine ligands (P2N2) for stabilizing Re(V) and Rh(III).
  • Synthesis and characterization of complexes with either Rh(III) or Re(V)
  • Radiochemical syntheses of the Rh-105 or Re-188 complexes
  • Stability of the complexes in pH 7.4 buffer

The above projects are suitable for summer projects, or as academic year projects if they are combined or expanded.

There are various aspects of the above projects that involve redox reactions and there may be some interesting electrochemistry studies, especially with regard to Rh(III)/Rh(I) couples and possibly with regard to the gold chemistry. The latter though is probably not amenable to an undergraduate unless he/she would be spending at least the academic year in the research group.

Not all projects in my group involve radioisotopes, but any student that is interested in working in my group must realize that radioisotopes are used and that he/she may be involved with them at some point. All will be trained in the handling of radioactivity.

Synthesis and Characterization of New Transparent Conductors Using Molten Salt Fluxes

Prof. Steven W. Keller
213 Chem | 884-6893 | KellerS@missouri.edu | Professor Keller

I am interested in beginning a new project in exploratory synthesis of new oxide materials that are both electronically conducting and optically transparent. Often these two properties are mutually exclusive, but a few of these "transparent conductors" are known, and they are one key material in the production of liquid crystal displays. However, all of the known materials are what are known as n-type conductors, meaning that they have an excess of electrons that carry the electrical charge. No materials are known that are electron deficient, so-called p-type conductors. With both types, one could imagine constructing transparent transistors for a variety of exotic photo conductive devices.

Of particular interest are oxides containing Sn, In, and Zn. The project centers on the use of NaOH and KOH as solvents...mixtures of these salts can melt as low as 170 ºC and are very good solvents for basically anything. What needs to be done initially is some exploratory synthesis of In-Sn-Zn-O compounds in molten hydroxides to see what can be made. This is speculative research?no one has ever studied this system in detail, but that is the exciting part. With the brand new powder X-ray diffraction equipment that will be arriving in the department this summer, we will be able to identify what phases we make, (like the SnO2 structure seen in the figure) and if a new phase is formed (very likely) we will be able to determine the crystal structure. In addition, for any promising materials we can measure the optical transparency and the electrical conductivity with instruments already existing in the lab. This project is a great introduction to solid-state chemistry, chemical research in general, and I believe has a good chance of making new, and potentially very useful oxide materials.

If you, or someone you know, are interested in working on this, or perhaps another solid-state research project please let Professor Keller know by email (see above).