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FSC chemistry students present papers 
at American Chemical Society meeting

LAKELAND, Fla. (Dec. 1, 2003) - Florida Southern students Houda Darwiche and Stacey Bronson presented papers in poster format at the 55th Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Atlanta Nov. 16. Both students worked under the direction of Dr. Carmen Gauthier, associate professor of the chemistry department. 

Dr Gauthier's research is in the area of coordination polymers using metals such as copper and zinc. These chemicals are of great interest because of their potential applications in areas as diverse as pharmaceuticals, catalysis, magnetism, optics, storage devices and as superconductors. 

"One area of extensive study is the develop of chemicals that can be used as storage devises," Gauthier explained. "For example, when people talk about cars powered with hydrogen and oxygen, the problem lies in the storage of hydrogen. Many scientists believe if we design chemicals with specific shapes and sizes, we can create materials capable of storing chemicals that otherwise will be very difficult to manipulate." 

Darwiche, a senior chemistry-biology major, is the daughter of Abdul and Hind Darwiche of Winter Haven, Fla. She presented "Self-assembly of coordination polymers using zinc (II), glutaric acid and 4,4'-bipyridine." The poster presented the three novel coordination polymers of zinc( II) using the node and spacer approach. The compounds were characterized using single x-ray diffraction studies (conducted at the University of South Florida), infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis. 

Bronson is a sophomore chemistry major and the daughter of Christopher and Denise Gibson of Brandon, Fla. She presented "Crystal engineering: self-assembly of supramolecular arrays using copper-carboxylates and amines derivatives." Her project involved the synthesis of the dicoppertetracarboxylate unit and using it to build supramolecular structures with amines as bridges between the metal units. Her approach was much like building structures using Lego units. She was able to develop a new synthetic approach to the dicoppertetracarboxylate unit. Her compounds were characterized using x-ray powder diffraction (work conducted at the University of South Florida), infrared and UV-Vis spectroscopy. 

About Florida Southern College
Florida Southern is a four-year, private, co-educational liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. The college offers more than 40 undergraduate majors and a master of business administration degree accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Located in Lakeland, Fla., the college is home to the largest, single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture in the world. 

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