Chemistry
Recent Deposits
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Copper speciation in different marine ecosystems around New Zealand
Copper (Cu) is an important bioactive trace metal in the marine environment, acting as an essential micronutrient for many marine species. However, it can also be harmful at elevated concentrations, triggering sub-lethal ... -
Carbonylations with Bridged Carbonyl Compounds as CO donors
This thesis describes research carried out to develop a norbornadienone based organic carbon monoxide releasing molecule (CORM) as a safe, solid CO source for various carbonylation reactions. Reaction of 2,5-dimethyl-3,4 ... -
Functionalised Metal Nanoparticles for Surface Attachment Reactions
Surface attachment of functional molecules to metal nanoparticles can facilitate many useful applications such as molecular electronics.1-2 Preparing size-controlled stable nanoparticles with specific surface functionality ... -
N2 Dissociation Over Selected Pure Rare Earth Surfaces
N2 dissociation on a selection of rare earth (RE) elements (Nd, Sm, Eu, Yb) is studied to better understand a recent experimental observation that some rare earth nitrides (RENs) are able to form at ambient temperature and ... -
Redox Polymers for Bulk Gel Actuators
The objective of this study is to make an electroactive, relatively fast (moderate speed), durable, and self-contained polymer gel actuator at the centimetre scale using redox polymers. There are many prototype electric ... -
Polymer Monolayers for Chromium(III) (Hydr)oxide, with Antifouling Applications for Stainless Steel Surfaces
The intended purpose of this work is to form a more complete understanding of how to maintain pristine, foulant-resistant stainless steel surfaces in aqueous proteinaceous or microbial environments such as those found on ... -
Synthesis, Characterisation and Antimicrobial Studies of “Click” 2,6-bis(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridine Ruthenium(II) Complexes
The first chapter of this thesis outlines the problematic era we find ourselves in with regards to antimicrobial resistance, and relevant information about antimicrobial therapy. A possible route forward is discussed, and ... -
Donor-Acceptor Cyclopropanes as Building Blocks for the Synthesis of Natural Product Scaffolds
The first chapter of this thesis provides an introduction to natural products and describes how they are a valuable source of bioactive compounds, which feature heavily in clinically used drugs. The recently reported ... -
A Metallosupramolecular Approach to Responsive Polymer Gels using Pyridine-Hydrazones
The use of metal-induced conformational changes in pyridine-hydrazone crosslinkers to control the volumes of gels was complicated by the adaptive metallosupramolecular behaviour of the ligands. The combination of ... -
Spectroscopy of Donor-Acceptor Dyes
A number of organic donor-acceptor dyes were investigated using spectroscopic and computational methods. This class of materials can form charge-transfer excited-states which result in a number of interesting properties. ... -
Transition metal complexes of pyrazine-based bis-terdentate diamide ligands
The four symmetrical, closely related pyrazine-based bis-terdentate diamide ligands N,N'-bis(2-pyridylmethyl)pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxamide (H2 LM1), N,N'-bis[2-(2-pyridyl)ethyl]pyrazine-2,3-dicarboxamide (H2 LM2), ... -
Total Synthesis of (-)-Spiroleucettadine
One of a number of intriguing new alkaloids isolated from the Leucetta sp. sponge in 2004, spiroleucettadine displayed unique structural features on a restricted scaffold: a trans-fused 5,5-bicyclic ring system together ... -
Accessing Natural Product Scaffolds; A Top-Down and Bottom-Up Approach
Natural products, and natural product derivatives, have applications in both total synthesis and synthetic methodology, as well as having medical applications. Whilst many natural products possess suitable activity against ... -
Hydrogen Isotopes in New Zealand Soil: A method comparison
The spatial characteristic of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of global precipitation has been widely investigated. This study extends that investigation to tracing the flow of hydrogen isotope ratio patterns ... -
Determination of Trace Metal Contaminants in the Whau and Pakuranga Catchments Using the DGT Method
Metal contaminants have become a major issue in today’s environment, and increasing research is being done on methods to monitor and determine point sources of these contaminants. Passive sampling devices are one such ... -
Ag(I) containing supramolecular architectures with flexible asymmetric ligands
This thesis describes the synthesis and characterization of a series of metallo-supramolecular complexes, synthesized with either 3,4 dipyridyl ketone (LK34), 3,4 dipyridyl ketone oxime (LO34) or 3,4-dipyridyl methanol ... -
Synthesis and Utilization of Novel Chromone Based Scaffolds
The chromone moiety (11) is a common structural motif found in a wealth of natural products and medicinally relevant compounds. Its synthesis has been investigated for over 100 years, yet opportunities still remain for ... -
The Role of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) in Biogeochemical Cycling of Iron within Estuarine and Coastal Waters
Iron (Fe) is an essential element for the biochemical and physiological functioning of terrestrial and oceanic organisms. Speciation describes the chemical forms in which Fe is present in an aquatic environment. It is ... -
Carbazole-based Schiff base Macrocycles and Complexes: Redox, Fluorescence and Catalysis
This thesis outlines the successful synthesis of the first families of pure samples of carbazole-based Schiff base macrocycles and complexes. These compounds represent a new generation of Schiff base macrocycles and ... -
Stable isotope modelling of blackberry to trace the origin of cannabis
The legality of marijuana and its products in different countries and cultures is subject of debate prompting scientific research about developing new techniques to enable verification of the region of origin of marijuana ...