Dr. Aaron I. Baba, Assistant Professor

301A Logan Hall, (513)-745-3271
ababa@xu.edu

Research Projects

Synthesis and Spectroscopic Studies on Stable Ruthenium Complexes.

This project involves the design, synthesis and spectroscopic studies of unique (caged) ruthenium complexes with increased photochemical stability and thus allows their wider applications, especially in sensor design. The ligands needed for the synthesis of these unique complexes have being prepared and their characterization is almost complete. The linker for tethering these ligands to the ruthenium atom is being prepared and some promising synthetic routes have been developed. The caged complexes will be synthesized and characterized using spectroscopic and electrochemical techniques. In addition, the utility of these complexes in O2, CO2 and pH sensor design will be investigated.

Chemiluminescent Application of Luminol Analogs

Luminol is a widely used reagent in chemiluminescence-based chemical analysis. Its use in chemical analysis is however affected by the short duration and weakness of the chemiluminescence signal. In this project, compounds that are similar to luminol have been synthesized with the goal of attaining longer and stronger chemiluminescent signal than is derived from luminol. In the next stage of this work, the luminol analogs will be characterized and investigated for chemical analysis.

Heterocylic Compounds as Corrosion Inhibitors

The use of corrosion inhibitors is a practical method for the protection of metals. The ability of a compound to serve as inhibitor is dependent on its ability to form a compact barrier film, chemisorption on the metal surface and high adsorption energy on the metal surface. Heterocyclic compounds have been investigated for corrosion inhibition because of the electron donor properties of the nitrogen, the p-electron of the aromatic rings and their good chelating properties. Based on these properties, it is expected that the molecules PMA and PDA would be more efficient inhibitors, compared to 1,10-phenanthroline because of the –OH and –COOH substituents which offers additional interaction sites with the metal surface. The efficiency of these compounds in the inhibition of the corrosion of Cu, Al, and Fe in acidic and basic media will be investigated using volumetric, gravimetric and electrochemical methods.

Synthesis and Analytical Applications of Ruthenium Complex Linked Cyclam

Luminescence-based analytical methods offer several advantages over absorption-based measurements. Over the years the spectroscopic properties of ruthenium heterocyclic complexes have been widely understood and have been investigated for various sensing applications. In this project, 4-bromomethyl-7-methyl-1,10-phenanthroline will be linked to a cyclam to form a unique ligand which will be coordinated to bis-(1,10-phenanthroline) ruthenium (II) dichloride complex, Ru(phen)2Cl2 and rhenium pentacarbonyl choride, Re(CO)5Cl. Phen = 1,10-phenanthroline. The resulting complexes are expected to have well defined luminescence characteristics, which would be modified by the presence of metal ions intercalated in the cyclam cavity. The extent of modulation will depend on the type of metal ion in the cyclam cavity and its concentration. The Cylcam-linked complex will be investigated for heavy metal ion quantitation.