P.T. Maragh B.Sc. (Special), Ph.D., U.W.I. Lecturer (Physical) paul.maragh@uwimona.edu.jm

Research Interests:

1. Kinetics and Reaction Mechanisms of dinuclear hydroxo-bridged transition metal complexes with dissolved SO2 and some oxoanions. We are the first group to synthesise and fully characterise an oxygen bridged sulfito complex of chromium(III).

2. Electrochemical studies on trinuclear mixed valence and mixed metal transition metal complexes in non aqueous solvents. This includes investigation of Standard Reduction Potentials and Electrode Kinetic reactions by cyclic voltammetry.

3. Kinetics and Reaction Mechanisms of the oxidation of biological reductants with trinuclear transition metal complexes.

4. Synthesis and Characterization of Transfer Hydrogenation Catalysts, used in the hydrogenation of ketones and immines.

5. Synthesis of [2,2]Paracyclophane-type derivatives of N-Heterocyclic carbenes, their transition metal complexes, and studies on their catalytic activity.

6. Analysis and quantification of acrylamide in foods; kinetics and mechanism of the formation of acrylamide and the interaction with body fluid constituents.

7. Analysis of MTBE, BTEX and other VOC.s in Jamaican Water and soil. Hydrolysis and microbial degradation studies on MTBE.

8. Catalytic studies on the dechlorination of Polychlorobiphenyls

Selected Publication

• A Family of Active Iridium Catalysts for Transfer Hydrogenation of Ketones. Zaheer E. Clarke, Paul T. Maragh, Tara P. Dasgupta, Dmitri Gusev, Alan J. Lough and Kamaluddin Abdur-Rashid. Organometallics (2006), 25(17), 4113-4117
• Kinetics and Mechanism of the Electron Transfer Reaction between Di-m-cyanobis[tetracyanoferrate(III)] Ion and Sulfite in Aqueous Acidic Solution. Jane Lui-Lym, Tara Dasgupta, Paul Maragh, Floyd Beckford, Geoff Stedman. Inorganica Chimica Acta (2007), 360(7), 2284-2290.
• The Crystal Structure of a Bis(2,6-pyridinedicarboxylato)chromate(III) Anion with an Elaborate Network of Hydrogen Bonding and p Stacking. Vince C.R. Payne,1 Oliver St.C. Headley, Robert T. Stibrany, Paul T. Maragh, Tara P. Dasgupta, Anthony M. Newton, and Alvin A. Holder. Journal of Chemical Crystallography (2007), 37(4), 309-314.
• Analysis and Quantification of Acrylamide in Jamaican Foods by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. Grace-Anne Bent, Paul Maragh and Tara Dasgupta. Jamaican Journal of Science and Technology (2007), 18, 64-69.
• Solid State 13C-NMR and Infrared Studies on the Molecular Packing of Anhydrous Zinc(II) n-Alkanoates. Richard A. Taylor, Henry A. Ellis and Paul T. Maragh, Journal of Molecular Structure (2009), 921(1-3), 118-125.
• Dynamic Studies of Transnitrosation of Thiols of Biological Importance by the Nitrosated 4,42,422,4222-Tetrasulfophthalocyaninecobaltate(III) Anion in Aqueous Solution. Ross F. Brown, Tara P. Dasgupta, Paul T. Maragh and Alvin A. Holder, Biophysical Chemistry (2009), 141, 198-202.