Frank B. Mallory, W. Alton Jones Professor
Organic Chemistry
Born, 1933. B.S., Yale University, 1954. Ph.D., California Institute of Technology, 1958. Phone: (610)526-5105; e-mail: fmallory@brynmawr.edu
My current research interests are mainly in four areas of organic chemistry: (1) organic photochemistry; (2) the synthesis of solubilized "graphite ribbons" and the investigation of their properties; (3) the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to probe for certain intramolecular interactions in organic molecules; and (4) solid-state studies in collaboration with Professor Peter A. Beckmann of the Department of Physics involving the use of Zeeman 1 H and 2 H relaxation measurements to study the rates of the intramolecular rotation of alkyl groups attached to aromatic rings.
The photochemical studies are concerned primarily with the mechanism and the synthetic applicability of the photocyclization of cis- stilbenes to produce phenanthrenes. The objective of the "graphite ribbon" work is to synthesize and characterize some very large (nanoscale) members of the family of novel polycyclic aromatic molecules known as phenacenes in the hope that these molecules may show interesting and useful properties as materials. The NMR investigations have focussed mainly on the synthesis of molecules that allow insights into the mechanism of "through-space" coupling, the phenomenon in which extremely large coupling constants are found for certain pairs of nuclei (e.g., 19 F 19 F, 15 N 19 F, 13 C 19 F, 31 P 19 F, and 31 P 31 P) when they experience nonbonded interactions by being crowded against one another intramolecularly. The solid-state studies seek to elucidate a detailed understanding of the intramolecular and intermolecular factors that contribute to the energy barriers for the rotation of some simple alkyl substituents in various crystalline aromatic compounds.
Selected Recent Publications
"Nuclear Spin-Spin Coupling via Nonbonded Interactions. 8. The Distance Dependence of Through-Space Fluorine-Fluorine Coupling," Frank B. Mallory, Clelia W. Mallory, Kelly E. Butler, Mary Beth Lewis, Qian Xia, Eddie D. Luzik, Jr., Laura E. Fredenburgh, Mercy M. Ramanjulu, Que N. Van, Michelle M. Francl, Dana A. Freed, Chandra C. Wray, Christine Hann, Maryellen Nerz-Stormes, Patrick J. Carroll, and Lisa E. Chirlian, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2000, 122, 4108-4116.
"Phenacenes: A Family of Graphite Ribbons. 3. Iterative Strategies for the Synthesis of Large Phenacenes," Frank B. Mallory, Kelly E. Butler, Amélie Bérubé, Eddie D. Luzik, Jr., Clelia W. Mallory, Emilie J. Brondyke, Rupa Hiremath, Phung L. Ngo, and Patrick J. Carroll, Tetrahedron 2001, 57, 3715-3724.
"Methyl and t- Butyl Group Reorientation in Planar Aromatic Solids: Low-Frequency Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Relaxometry and X-Ray Diffraction," Peter A. Beckmann, Carolyn A. Buser, Kathleen M. Gullifer, Frank B. Mallory, Clelia W. Mallory, Gene M. Rossi, and Arnold L. Rheingold, Journal of Chemical Physics 2003, 118 , 11129-11138.
“CF 3 Rotation in 3-(Trifluoromethyl)phenanthrene: Solid State 19 F and 1 H NMR Relaxation and Bloch-Wangsness-Redfield Theory,” Peter A. Beckmann, Jessie Rosenberg, Kerstin Nordstrom, Clelia W. Mallory, and Frank B. Mallory, Journal of Physical Chemistry A 2006, 110 , 3947-3953.
“CF 3 Rotation in 3-(Trifluoromethyl)phenanthrene. X-ray Diffraction and ab Initio Electronic Structure Calculations,” Xianlong Wang, Frank B. Mallory, Clelia W. Mallory, Peter A. Beckmann, Arnold L. Rheingold, and Michelle M. Francl, Journal of Physical Chemistry A 2006 , 110 , 3954-3960.
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