Achievement

With IGERT support, trainee Chantal Balesdent has established a standard UV-vis concentration curve using known ammonium salts. With this knowledge in hand, she is now able to accurately determine the amount of ammonia generated from the reduction of dinitrogen gas with our iron-phosphine complexes.

Additionally, she has set up an electrochemical system in her lab’s inert atmosphere glovebox. This was made possible through the interdisciplinary nature of IGERT, as Balesdent was able to consult fellow IGERT trainees in other areas of chemistry as well as professors. This opens up the entire field of electrochemistry to her work, allowing for examination of oxidation states of the iron complexes, and the effect of additional electrons on the production of ammonia.