BARNARD COLLEGE
DEPARTMENT of CHEMISTRY
3009 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
Altschul Hall · Floors 6-8
Telephone (212) 854-8460
Fax (212) 854-2310
PROFESSOR DINA MERRER
ASSISTANT Professor of Chemistry
705 altschul HALL
(212) 854-9631
Education:
Ph.D., Organic Chemistry,
Rutgers University, 1999
Dissertation Title: Absolute Kinetics of
Selected Singlet Carbenes: Rearrangement in
Excited States, Quantum Mechanical
Tunneling, and Bystander Effects
Thesis Advisor:
Robert A. Moss
B.A., Chemistry (magna cum laude), Smith College, 1994
Other Research Experience:
OSU Postdoctoral Fellow, The Ohio State University, 1999-2001
Advisor:
Matthew S. Platz
Recent
Publications:
(undergraduate researchers underlined)
Mo, X. Y.; Bernard, S. E.; Khrapunovich, M.; Merrer, D. C. A Computational Study of Chlorocarbene Additions to Cyclooctyne, J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 8537-8544. PDF
Khrapunovich, M.; Zelenova, E.; Seu, L.; Sabo, A. N.; Flaherty A.; Merrer, D. C. Regioselectivity and Mechanism of Dihalocarbene Addition to Benzocyclopropene, J. Org. Chem. 2007, 72, 7574-7580. PDF
Merrer, D. C.; Rablen, P. R. Dichlorocarbene Addition to Cyclopropenes: A Computational Study, J. Org. Chem. 2005, 70, 1630-1635. PDF
Merrer, D. C.; Ozcetinkaya, S.; Shinnar, A. E. Experimental and Theoretical Ultraviolet Spectra of Haloindoles, Tetrahedron Lett. 2004, 45, 4899-4902. PDF
(For all publications, please view CV)
Current Grant:
CHE-0517876- Mechanisms of Electrophilic Carbene Additions to Strained Cyclic C-C Bonds, National Science Foundation, 2005-09. Summary.
(For all grants, please view CV)
Research Areas:
My group’s research is concerned with elucidating the mechanisms of carbene additions to strained cyclic compounds, and the degree to which these mechanisms are affected by reaction dynamics. We use experimental and computational techniques together to root out the mechanistic pathways. Thus far, we have examined the reactions of halocarbenes with cyclopropene and benzocyclopropene, and are currently working on halocarbene additions to cyclooctyne, cycloheptyne, and trans-bicyclo[n.1.0]alkanes.