Profile and Key Skills

Studied whilst registered as a full time student from October 1992 - September 1993

Examination Course Code	Subject Title
CC0600	Postgraduate Courses in Chemical Research Methods and Techniques. Subjects selected for study: Numerical and Computational Methods Nuclear Magnetic Resonance o Metals and Microorganisms (bio-inorganic chemistry) Chromatography (paper, TLC, HPLC, GLC) Mass Spectrometry
CC 3140	One 3rd year BSc course that had not been previously studied: Fine Chemicals and Bio-technology
---------	MSc Thesis / Dissertation

Title
" The Kinetics and Mechanism of the Silver Ion-Promoted Hydrolysis of 2-methyl 2-phenyl-1,3-Dithiane in Aqueous and its Derivatives"

Areas of Study
Areas of Study Physical Chemistry:

Chemical Kinetics
Metal Ion Promotion / Catalysis Main technique employed

Main Technique Employed
UV/ Visible Spectrometry using a Perkin-Elmer Lambda 5 Spectrophotometer

Subsidiary Techniques
Synthesis of dithiane crystals, and NMR

Abstract from the MSc Thesis
This work involved the study of the kinetics and mechanism of the silver ion-promoted hydrolysis of 2- methyl 2-phenyl-1,3-dithiane and its derivatives. Virtually no previous kinetic work has been carried out on cyclic thioacetals and very few studies have been carried out on the effect of substituents on the rates of metal-ion promoted hydrolysis of thioacetals. The results obtained showed that the reaction studied followed an A1-type mechanism. Changing substituents led to subtle changes in the mechanism. Significant backbonding from the metal to sulphur in the adducts, formed between the dithiane and silver ion, probably played an important role in the mechanism.

Supervisor: Dr Rosemary Satchell, of King's College, University of London

Internal Examiner: Prof. Frank Hibbert, of King's College, University of London

External Examiner: Dr Ridd, of University College London