Frank and Theodora Miselis Professor of Chemistry

Department of Chemistry

Colby College, Waterville, Maine

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Analytical and Environmental Chemistry. 

The King group develops and builds analytical instruments for ultra-trace analysis of Fe(II), Fe(III), Mn(II), Cr(III), HOOH, superoxide, and phosphate in natural waters.    These analytical systems/methods are used by a number of research groups, both in the US and internationally, providing interesting collaborations for my research group at Colby.   In 2002,  King co-founded Waterville Analytical to meet the commercial demand for our FIA instrumentation.

            The King research group has several ongoing research projects.   We are continuing to work with the Wells and Tripp groups at the University of Maine to develop novel sensors for iron in the ocean based on the specific interaction of DFB with Fe(III).   Our second area of research  is a kinetic study of the decay rate of superoxide in well-defined media.   We are particularly interested in the decay rate of superoxide at nM concentrations where a number of first order decay pathways may effectively compete with the, well-characterized, second order decay pathway. Our third project is biogeochemical investigation of the Belgrade Lakes watershed. We are investigating the nutrient dynamics of each of the Belgrade Lakes and the redox dynamics of species like iron, HOOH, and superoxide at the lake surfaces (top and bottom).  This work uses the Colby Compass, a 24' pontoon boat configured for lake research. Interactive maps of the Belgrade Lakes watershed are available on our GIS web page.