The ReactIR 15 supports projects within the chemistry department that require mechanistic characterization of new catalytic C-C bond forming reactions including reductive coupling of CO and dehydrogenative cross coupling, organometallic reactions catalyzed by late transition metals ligated to novel ambiphilic, multifunctional, and 1,2,3-triazole ligand systems, palladium-catalyzed pathways for making nitrogen heterocycles of biological importance, and characterization of gas-phase combustion intermediates. 

The in situ infrared system can acquire both solution-phase (EasyMax102) and gas-phase (gas cell) IR spectra, and the system is capable of monitoring simultaneous changes in infrared spectra and gas pressure under high-pressure solution-phase reaction conditions safely and conveniently. Infrared spectroscopy allows for the direct observation of paramagnetic materials and many gaseous small molecules that can be problematic or altogether impossible to observe by NMR spectroscopy. The dual employment of in operando IR and NMR spectroscopic techniques permits the determination of reaction kinetics for most chemical systems encountered during routine mechanistic investigations.