Members of Texas State University's Chemistry Club have written a proposal for a reduced gravity experiment after much hard work. The proposal was submitted to NASA on October 28th, 2009 and accepted proposals will be announced on December 9th, 2009. If accepted, team members will spend 10 days in Houston during the Summer to run the experiment.

Electrochemical Reduction of Iodohexane in Microgravity

We intend to study the effect of microgravity on the rates of electrochemical reactions, using the reduction of iodohexane as a model system. Electrochemistry is the study of chemical reactions at the interface of an electrode which serves to inject or remove electrons from the system. The chemical reactions studied at the interface of the working electrode can either be oxidation reactions (reactions in which there is a net loss of electrons) or reduction reactions (reactions in which there is a net gain of electrons). A potential is applied to an electrode (designated as the working electrode) to initiate the desired reaction (whether oxidation or reduction). Applying a positive potential causes oxidation to occur, while applying a negative potential causes a reduction reaction. A second electrode (the auxiliary electrode) is held at a potential to initiate the opposite reaction to complete the circuit. An electrolyte in solution serves as an ionic conductor to connect the electrical path between the working electrode and the auxiliary electrode.

The reduction of iodohexane (CH3(CH2)4CH2I) is described in the following reaction:
C6H13I + 2 e- → C6H13- + I-

In this reaction, C6H13- and I- are the anions produced from the two electron reduction of C6H13I. The C6H13- anion will subsequently react to form organic products through proton abstraction from the solvent to form hexane:

C6H13- + H+ → C6H14

C6H13- + C6H13I → C12H26 + I-

Low density organic products (and high density I- anions) are formed from the electrochemical reduction of the relatively dense C6H13I.