LeRoy Jones II, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Chemistry 

Project Director, NSF Illinois LSAMP Program

Office: William Science Center 101A

Phone: 773-995-2965 

Fax: 773-995-2966 

E-mail: ljones27@csu.edu

Educational Background

B.S., Bradley University, Peoria, IL, 1991; Ph.D. with Dr. James M. Tour, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 1996; Post-Doctoral Scholar with Dr. Robert H. Grubbs, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 1996-98

Research & Program Interests

Self-Healing Bone Cement. Acrylic bone cement is currently the predominant synthetic biomaterial used for anchoring the prosthesis to the contiguous bone in a cemented arthroplasty.  In these joint replacements, the cement mantle should, among other things, allow the transfer of body weight and service loads from the prosthesis to the bone and/or increase the load-carrying capacity of the prosthesis-bone cement-bone system.  It is well recognized, however, that the bone cement mantle often experiences fatigue fracture – due to the propagation of cracks that emanate from, for example, entrapped air bubbles, blood inclusion, etc. – which may ultimately lead to aseptic loosening of the prosthesis.  The goal of the proposed exploratory project is to develop and examine the feasibility of using autonomous agents in acrylic bone cement composites.  Autonomous agents, sometimes referred to as self-healing materials, possess the ability to heal cracks autonomically and, hence, recover the structural function of the component.  It is the hypothesis of the proposed work that the incorporation of autonomous agents into an acrylic bone cement matrix will increase the cement's fracture toughness and fatigue life significantly, while markedly decreasing the rate of propagation of cracks through it.  Accordingly, the specific aims of the proposed research are to (1) incorporate autonomous agents into acrylic bone cement (to obtain self-healing bone cement composites), (2) develop new self-healing chemistries for acrylic bone cements, and (3) determine the mechanical properties of these composites.  The joint integration of the three specific aims will provide the groundwork for a new group of acrylic bone cement composites.  More importantly, successful achievement of the goal of this developmental project will significantly increase the in vivo longevity of cemented joint replacements which will, in turn, translate to increased patient satisfaction and decreased hospital costs.  The collaborative project will also create opportunities for women and underrepresented minority students to participate actively in the fields of synthetic polymer chemistry, biomechanical engineering and biomaterial research. 

In an effort to avoid the use of thallium to perform the aforementioned substitution reaction, we are investigating the feasibility of microwave-assisted synthesis using less toxic salts of Schiff base ligands.  We anticipate that MW-assisted synthesis will provide a safer route for the preparation of ruthenium Schiff base catalysts to be used in olefin metathesis reactions.

Development of Catalysts for Lightweight Fuel Cells. A major area of focus in the war against terrorism has been application of robotic vehicles, such as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and unmanned aerial systems (UAVs), including airships. Numerous unmanned vehicles have been deployed in recent years during military actions in Afghanistan, Iraq and other regions. As existing vehicles are deployed, and emerging vehicles are developed and tested, requirements to strengthen the capabilities of these robotic vehicles emerge. An area of need and of opportunity exists for the development of more efficient power sources and systems for these robotic vehicles. Presently, most mobile robotic systems are powered either by petroleum-derived fuel engines or batteries. As the complexity and duration of missions increase for robotic vehicles, a need for an independent fuel supply that is not limited by traditional fuel-tank capacity emerges. Among the most promising candidate technologies for more efficient power sources and systems for robotic vehicles are those emerging from another innovative arena – that of fuel cell technologies. By replacing conventional power supply systems with fuel cell technology packages designed specifically for mobile robotics systems, the potential for enhanced mission capabilities, energy efficiency, maintenance efficiency, and, ultimately, cost savings for the federal government could be met.

We are preparing nanoparticle catalysts from reverse microemulsions for fuel cells. The size, structure, and composition of the nanoparticles are being characterized by transition electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrocatalytic properties of the nanoparticles for use in fuel cells will also be assessed.

Illinois LSAMP Program. The Illinois Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (ILSAMP) formerly the Chicago Alliance for Minority Participation (ChAMP) was formed in 1993 in response to the National Science Foundation's (NSF) mandate to significantly increase the number of underrepresented minority scholars earning degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. In support of this goal, ILSAMP has 1) provided programs to improve STEM student academic preparation, 2) modified or reinvented gateway courses to better educate more students and, 3) provided underrepresented students with more educational options to increase opportunity and enhance performance. ILSAMP is currently composed of eight (8) comprehensive universities, one (1) senior institution, nine (9) community colleges and one (1) government lab.

“Incorporation of Microencapsulated Dicyclopentadiene into an Acrylic Bone Cement Matrix,” Biggs, P.; Jones, L., II ; Lewis, G., PMSE Preprints , 2007 , 96 , 498.

“Combined Scanning Tunneling Microscopy and Infrared Spectroscopic Characterization of Mixed Surface Assemblies of Linear Conjugated Guest Molecules in Host Alkanethiolate Monolayers on Gold,” Dunbar, T. D.; Cygan, M. T.; Bumm, L. A.; McCarty, G. S.; Burgin, T. P.; Reinerth, W. A.; Jones, L., II ; Jackiw, J. J.; Tour, J. M.; Weiss, P. S.; Allara, D. L., J. Phys. Chem. B , 2000 , 104 (20) , 4880-93.

"Schiff Base Derivatives of Ruthenium and Osmium Olefin Metathesis Catalysts," Grubbs, R. H.; Chang, S.; Jones, L., II ; Wang, C., PCT Int. Appl. ( 1999 ), WO 9926949 , 45 pp.

"Synthesis and Characterization of Ruthenium Based New Olefin Metathesis Catalysts Coordinated by Bidentate Schiff Base Ligands," Chang, S.; Jones, L., II; Wang, C.; Henling, L. M.; Grubbs, R. H., Organometallics, 1998, 17(16), 3460-65.

"Rapid Solution and Solid-Phase Syntheses of Oligo(1,4-phenylene-ethynylene)s with Thioester Termini: Molecular Scale Wires with Alligator Clips.  Derivation of Iterative Reaction Efficiencies on a Polymer Support," Jones, L., II; Schumm, J. S.; Tour, J. M., J. Org. Chem., 1997, 62(5), 1388-1410.

"Are Single Molecular Wires Conducting?" Bumm, L. A.; Arnold, J. J.; Cygan, M. T.; Dunbar, T. D.; Burgin, T. P.; Jones, L., II; Allara, D. L.; Tour, J. M.; Weiss, P. S.,  Science, 1996, 271(5256), 1705-07.

"Self-Assembled Monolayers and Multilayers of Conjugated Thiols, a,w-Dithiols, and Thioacetyl-Containing Substrates.  Understanding Attachments Between Potential Molecular Wires and Gold Surfaces,"  Tour, J. M.; Jones, L., II; Pearson, D. L.; Lamba, J. J. S.; Burgin, T.; Whitesides, G. M.; Allara, D. L.; Parikh, A. N.; Atre, S., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1995, 117(37), 9529-34.

"Characterization of the Conductivity of Organic Thiols by Field Emission Microscopy and Field Emission Spectroscopy," Purcell, S. T.; Garcia, N.; Jones, L., II ; Tour, J. M., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 1994, 116(26) , 11985-89.