Projects

Projects

The Hatcher Group’s research is in the area of environmental chemistry and geochemistry, emphasizing the origin and chemical transformations of plant-derived biopolymers in natural systems such as soils, peats, marine sediments, and oceanic waters.

A focus of recent interest is in the development of a chemical understanding for the three dimensional structure of environmentally-recalcitrant biopolymers in algae and vascular plants and their transformation to humic substances in soils and sediments. Modeling of presumed structures of lignin, a major biopolymer in wood, has suggested that it may have a helical structure.  We seek to provide experimental evidence for this structure via stereoselective and regiospecific synthesis of 13C-labeled polymers and use of solid-state 13C NMR techniques to establish distance information.

Studies of biopolymers and their degradation products in the environment involve use of other advanced structural characterization techniques that include (1) a new technique of thermochemolysis with tetramethyl-ammonium hydroxide followed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, (2) modern 2-D solution /solid NMR techniques, and (3) electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. These studies are important from the perspective of global warming issues in that we seek to assess the fate of plant-derived biopolymers, or carbon-containing materials, in the world’s oceans and to sedimentary systems where they may be sequestered.

Another area of research in the Hatcher group deals with the biogeochemical transformation of pollutants commonly found in herbicides and oil contamination. Using a technique we developed involving a site-specific 13C-labeling/NMR approach, the first direct evidence for covalent binding of pollutants to soil humic materials was obtained. We have also provided direct evidence that some contaminants can be sequestered in the environment by an encapsulation into macromolecular organic matter.

Current work is leading to the discovery of new chemical pathways for the environmental degradation of these toxic substances.

Current Projects

  • Methodology
  • Biodiesel
    • Algal Biomass to Fuel
  • Contaminants
    • Bioavailability and Toxicology of PAHs Associated With Soils and Sediments
  • Lignin
    • Study of humic acid structure using advanced mass spectrometric techniques
  • Natural Organic Matter
    • Investigations into the Temporal & Source-Dependent Chemical Compositions & Reactivity of Natural Dissolved Organic Matter
    • Dissolved Organic Matter Biogeochemistry
    • Comprehensive Chemical Characterization Of Marine Dissolved Organic Matter Using Efficient Isolation Coupled To Advanced Analytical Techniques
    • Coupled Geochemical and Geobiological Characterization of Dissolved Matter Oxidation to Carbon Dioxide
  • Pyrogenic Carbon
    • Understanding the Role of Black Carbon in Environmental Surface Processes