@article{rovira-truitt_patil_castillo_white_2009, title={Synthesis and Characterization of Biopolymer Composites from the Inside Out}, volume={42}, ISSN={["1520-5835"]}, DOI={10.1021/ma901324b}, abstractNote={The metal catalyzed ring-opening polymerization of d,l-lactide monomer inside the nanometer-sized channels of MCM-41 and SBA-15 hosts, creating an organic−inorganic hybrid polymeric material, is described. Detailed characterization of the polylactide/mesoporous silica organic−inorganic composite by multiple spectroscopic, microscopy, and calorimetric methods, as well as solvent extraction, reveals that the resulting in situ synthesized composite is unique relative to physical or solution-cast mixtures of polylactide and the mesoporous host. In this contribution, we focus on the incorporation of the stannous octanoate (Sn2+) catalyst inside the mesoporous host channels prior to monomer introduction and subsequent polymerization and specifically target the differentiation of polymerization chemistry that occurs inside the host channels versus less desirable reactions on the exterior surface of the mesoporous host crystallites.}, number={20}, journal={MACROMOLECULES}, author={Rovira-Truitt, Rosimar and Patil, Nitin and Castillo, Felissa and White, Jeffery L.}, year={2009}, month={Oct}, pages={7772–7780} }
 @article{truitt_toporek_rovira-hernandez_hatcher_white_2004, title={Identification of an adsorption complex between an alkane and zeolite active sites}, volume={126}, ISSN={["0002-7863"]}, DOI={10.1021/ja046729f}, abstractNote={Direct observation of the Bronsted acid site signal in an active zeolite catalyst following adsorption of stoichiometric quantities of isobutane reveals the presence of a specific adsorption complex. Independent polarization transfer experiments in which magnetization originates with either the catalyst or the adsorbed isobutane confirm this assignment. The initial steps in alkane reactivity are poorly defined, and this experimentally verified complex is proposed as a route to C-H bond activation in solid acids.}, number={36}, journal={JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY}, author={Truitt, MJ and Toporek, SS and Rovira-Hernandez, R and Hatcher, K and White, JL}, year={2004}, month={Sep}, pages={11144–11145} }