Dr. Paul Braterman

(Dr. Braterman's research group - from left to right: Dr. Joseph Boclair, Mr. Brian Brister, Dr. Paul Braterman, Ms. Faith Yarberery and Mr. Riley Stewart)

My work overlaps the traditional areas of Analytical, Inorganic, and Materials Chemistry. It has involved the application of a wide variety of physical techniques (vibrational and electronic spectroscopy, photochemistry, electrochemistry, optical and electron microscopy, powder xrd, HPLC, ICP) to the study of inorganic systems and their reactions with organic molecules. My current research is centered on a family of substances, both natural and synthetic, related to minerals whose interactions with small organic molecules suggest a possible role in the origins of life on Earth; this aspect of my work is supported by NASA through its Exobiology Program. These substances are, however, also of potential importance in a variety of connections, ranging from catalysis to environmental cleanup to development of new hybrid materials.

Life is generally thought to have evolved from the concentration and organization of simple - and relatively easily formed - precursors. I am exploring the possibility that such precursors organized themselves by adsorption on the surfaces of solids, or by insertion and intercalation between the layers of materials with sheet-like lattices, such as clays. Work in my group currently focuses on the layered double hydroxides (LDH) - a family of natural or synthetic minerals capable of intercalating carbonate, cyanide complexes, phosphate, and sulfide. LDH can also take up a wide range of complex anions, as well as alcohols, organic acids, and surfactants, and can incorporate complexes of catalytically active metals in a variety of tailored environments. The resulting solids offer the possibility of making new types of organic-inorganic hybrid materials and of controlling chemical behavior by incorporation within the precisely defined environment of the interlayer.

The experimental techniques used include electrochemistry and photochemistry of the intercalated species; electronic and vibrational spectroscopy; optical and electron microscopies; and X-ray diffraction. The results of our work are potentially relevant to catalyst preparation and specificity, geochemistry-mineralogy, the preparation of new materials, and the uptake of toxic waste. We are also exploring the possibility of using self-assembled monolayers to attach LDH to metal substrates, with a view to applications such as the development of novel electrochemical sensors.

Selected Publications:

Layer-Anion Interactions in Magnesium Aluminum Layered Double Hydroxides Intercalated with Cobalticyanide and Nitroprusside, Joseph W. Boclair, Paul S. Braterman, Brian D. Brister, and Faith Yarberry, Chem. Mater., 11, 2199-2204, 1999.

Layered Double Hydroxide Stability. 2. Formation of Cr(III)-Containing Layered Double Hydroxides Directly from Solution, J. W. Boclair P. S. Braterman, J. Jiang, S. Lou, and F. Yarberry, Chem. Mater., 11, 303-307 , 1999.

Layered Double Hydroxide Stability. 1. Relative Stabilities of Layered Double Hydroxides and their Simple Counterparts, J. W. Boclair and P. S. Braterman, Chem. Mater., 11, 298-302 , 1999.

One-Step Formation and Characterization of Zn(II)-Cr(III) Layered Double Hydroxides, Zn₂Cr(OH)₆X (X = Cl, ½ SO₄), J. W. Boclair and P. S. Braterman, Chem. Mater., 10, 2050, 1998.

Electro- and Spectroelectrochemistry of Platinum(II) Bipyridine Complexes and related Species, Lei Yang, Franz I. Wimmer, Smita Wimma, Jingxian Zhao, and Paul S. Braterman, J. Organometal.Chem., 575, 1 - 8 , 1996.

Preferential Uptake of Ammonium Ions by Zinc Ferrocyanide, P.S. Braterman, G. Arrhenius, S. Hui and W. Paplawski, Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere, 25, 531-538, 1995.

Examination of Various Soldered Surfaces and Electronic Components by Confocal Microscopy, P.S. Braterman, C. Tan, J. Zhao, J.L. Marshall and J. Sees, Soldering and Surface Mount Technology, 20, 22-26, 1995.

Orientational Effects in the Infrared Spectrum of Magnesium Aluminum Ferrocyanide, P.S. Braterman, C. Tan and J. Zhao, Materials Research Bulletin, 29, 1217-1221, 1994.

Morphology of Gel-grown Barium Carbonate Aggregates - pH Effect on Control by a Silicate-carbonate Membrane, T. Baird, P.S. Braterman, P. Chen, J.M. Garcia-Ruiz, R. D. Peacock, and A. Reid, Materials Research Bulletin, 27, 1031-1040, 1992.

Submarine Hot Springs and the Origin of Life, M.J. Russell, A.J. Hall, A.G. Cairns-Smith, and P.S. Braterman, Nature, 336, 117, 1988.

Spectro-Electrochemical Studies on Tris-Bipyridyl Ruthenium Complexes; Ultraviolet, Visible, and Near Infrared Spectra of the Series [Ru(bipy)₃]^2+/1+/0/1-, G. A. Heath, L. J. Yellowlees, and P. S. Braterman, J. Chem. Soc., Chem. Commun., 287-289 ,1981.

The Evolution of Evolvability; the Pedigree Principle, P.S. Braterman, in Clay Minerals and the Origin of Life (A.G. Cairns-Smith and H. Hartman, eds), Cambridge University Press, pp 152-153, 1986.

Photo-oxidation of hydrated Fe²⁺ - Significance for banded iron formations, P. S. Braterman, A. G. Cairns-Smith, and R. W. Sloper, Nature, 303, 163-164, 1983,.

Metal Carbonyl Spectra, P. S. Braterman, Academic Press, London, 1975.

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