William P. Henry

Associate Professor of Inorganic Chemistry

 
William P. Henry Bill Henry received a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Notre Dame in 1979. His Ph.D. degree (1986) was obtained from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where he worked with Dr. Reuben Rieke. Before joining the faculty at Mississippi State in 1988, Dr. Henry did postdoctoral work at Dartmouth College and Wayne State University.
email:
telephone: (662) 325-7606
 

Research Interests

The main focus of the research program is the synthesis and study of transition metal complexes containing ligands which allow for novel chemistry or the formation of new types of complexes. The goal is to develop complexes which can serve as better catalysts or as materials to be used in such applications as fuel cells, non-linear optics, or electrical storage.

Currently, an investigation of bi- and polynuclear complexes formed by the coordination of transition metals to ligands with two or more arene rings is in progress. An example of one such ligand is dibenzocyclooctatetraene (DBCOT).

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Notice that this ligand allows for either exo or endo arene coordination to each of the rings. Thus, both trans (endo/exo coordination) and cis (exo/exo coordination) isomers are possible. Reaction of DBCOT with an excess of L3Cr(CO)3, yields the bis(tricarbonylchromium) complex which has been shown by X-ray diffraction to be trans.

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At room temperature, the 1H NMR only shows 3 peaks for the hydrogen atoms in this complex. This indicates that this complex is fluxional as described by the following equation or as illustrated in the animated gif. Variable temperature NMR has been used to study this process.

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The electron transfer properties of this interesting compound will be studied by electrochemistry. In addition, attempts will be made to coordinate another metal to the 1,5-cyclooctadiene bonding site in this complex.

As illustrated in the example above, participants in this research program will perform organometallic synthesis, fully characterize the complexes synthesized by NMR and other spectroscopic techniques, determine the electrochemical response of the complexes, investigate interesting reactions the complexes undergo, and, when appropriate and feasible, determine the structure of the complexes by X-ray diffraction.

Publications 2003 - 2008

Book Chapters

  1. Henry, W. P. "Non-enzymatic Iron, Manganese and Copper Chemistry of Potential Importance in Wood Decay," ACS Symposium Series, 2003, 845, 175-195

Papers

  1. "Developing Environmentally Benign and Effective Organic Wood Preservatives by Understanding the Biocidal and Nonbiocidal Properties of Extractives in Naturally Durable Heartwood" Binbuga, N.; Ruhs, C.; Hasty, J. K.; Henry, W. P.; Schultz, T. P. Holzforschung 2008, 62, 264-269.
  2. "Determination of the stability constants for the binding of sulfonated morin with Fe2+" Binbuga, N.; Hasty, J. K.; Gwaltney, S. R.; Henry, W. P.; Schultz, T. P. Inorg. Chim. Acta 2007, 360, 2339-2344.
  3. "Binding of hydroxychromones with Al3+ in methanol" Binbuga, N.; Henry, W. P.; Schultz, T. P. Polyhedron 2007, 26, 6-10.
  4. " 'Push-Pull' and Spriobicyclic Structures by Reacting N-Methyl Cyclic Ketene-N,X (X = S, O)-acetals with Isocyanates and Isothiocyanates" Zhou, A.; Cao, L.; Li, H.; Liu, Z.; Cho, H.; Henry, W. P.; Pittman, C. U. Jr. Tetrahedron 2006, 62, 4188-4200.
  5. "Iron antagonism of MSMA herbicide applied to bermudagrass: characterization of the Fe2+-MAA complexation reaction" Massey, J. H.; Taylor, J. M.; Binbuga, N.; Chambers, K.; Coats, G. E.; Henry, W. P. Weed Science 2006, 54, 23-30.
  6. "Efficacy of a Copper(II)/Oxine Copper Wood Preservative Mixture After 69 Months of Outdoor Ground-Contact Exposure and a Proposed Mechanism to Explain the Observed Synergism" Schultz, T. P.; Nicholas, D. D.; Henry, W. P. Holzforschung 2005, 59, 370-373.
  7. "Review of Laboratory and Outdoor Exposure Efficacy Results of Organic Biocide:Antioxidant Combinations, An Initial Economic Analysis and Discussion of a Proposed Mechanism" Schultz, T. P.; Nicholas, D. D.; Henry, W. P.; Pittman, C. U. Jr.; Wipf, D. O.; Goodell, B. Wood Fiber Sci. 2005, 37, 175-184.
  8. "Metal Chelation Studies Relevant to Wood Preservation. 1. Complexation of Propyl Gallate with Fe2+" Binbuga, N.; Chambers, K.; Henry, W. P.; Schultz, T. P. Holzforschung 2005, 59, 205-209.