Chemistry and Biochemistry
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Dr. Michael F. Mayer

Title:

Assistant Professor

Education:

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, 2000; Postdoctoral Study, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2001-04

Research Area:

Organic Chemistry

Office:

Phone:

Email:

Chemistry 223-D

806-742-0019

MF.Mayer@ttu.edu

 

Research Group

YouTube Organic Chemistry Channel

Principal Research Interests

Currently, two projects are being investigated in the Mayer group.

1)  Over the last thirty years, chemists have discovered/invented hundreds of efficient catalysts for a wide variety of chemical transformations.  In recent years, a number of particularly mild and selective catalysts have been developed.  The stage is set for moving to a next level.  In one project, our goal is to develop new catalytic reaction processes where multiple catalysts are used together, at one time�to allow an efficient cascade of chemical reactions within a single reaction vessel.  This is quite a challenge since the simultaneous use of multiple catalysts can cause mutual interference between the catalysts.  However, when an effective combination is discovered and the process optimized, the resulting method may be notably useful.  Such processes can be time-efficient since the isolation and purification of chemical intermediates is avoided.  Similarly, the processes are often environmentally friendly (�green�) and cost effective since the use of large volumes of organic solvents for intermediate purification can be avoided.

2)  A goal of a second project is to synthesize a polycatenane.  This is a polymer that is composed of macrocycles that are linked together in a chain.  Thus far, no method exists for the synthesis of a polycatenane.  This is unfortunate because polycatenanes are predicted to have quite unique properties in comparison to most other classes of polymers.  The difference lies in the molecular structure, where the individual monomers, that make-up the polymer, have unique degrees of freedom to move, i.e. rotate and slide within each other.  These movements, at the molecular scale, are predicted to manifest in unusual viscoelastic properties for bulk samples.  Thus we are currently working towards the first synthesis of a polycatenane polymer.  We aim to characterize these materials and test existing theories regarding the effect of structural concatenation on polymer properties.

Representative Publications