Welcome to the Jackson Research Group website!
Probing mechanisms and theory from molecular interactions to process design, Jackson group efforts range from fundamental...Nature, scope, and applications of hydridic-to-protonic hydrogen bonding, complexant design and synthesis for thermally robust alkalides and electrides, approaches to organic-based magnetic materials by self-assembly, "Green" catalytic pathways from renewables to useful “petro-” chemicals
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Considering impending petroleum shortages, the environmental costs of using fossil-based fuels, the limitations of the hydrogen-based approach for transport, and the irreplaceable nature and ever growing demand for hydrocarbons, there is a need to shift hydrocarbon production in the US, and ultimately worldwide, to a renewable source: Biomass.....Read More »
Hydridic Protonic Hydrogen Bonding
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In work started in summer of 1994, and primarily carried forward by summer high school students and undergraduates, we demonstrated an interaction between the electron pair of a B-H bond and a traditional H-X (X=N, O, Halogen) hydrogen bonding partner. Single crystal X-ray and neutron diffraction, solution spectroscopies (IR, NMR), and ab initio calculations all indicate...
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Lignin Dimer Synthesis and Model Study
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ECH can upgrade the bio-oil produced by pyrolysis of lignin by cleaving the linkages between lignin monounits, thus lowering down the viscosity, stabilizing bio-oil, and increase the energy density of bio-oil. More specifically, model molecules of lignin dimer with β-5, 5-5, β-β linkages....
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Perazacryptand as a Host for Hydride
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Amine N-H bonds are good candidates for hydrogen bonding with basic anions. In general, the complexing capacity of a moiety X-H in a hydrogen bond X-H…Y- (X, Y = electronegative atoms or groups) increases with the acidity of X-H, or more precisely, with the stability of the X- anion. However, for basic Y- partners....Read More »