State Resolved Chemical Dynamics of Excited Metal Ions by Photodissociation Spectroscopy

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

Paul Kleiber of the University of Iowa is funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to continue his spectral studies of the photodissociation of weakly bonded metal (calcium, zinc, aluminum, boron, etc.) complexes with hydrogen, small alkanes and aldehyde hydrocarbons . The project will also extend the work to more risky studies, including those of the metal superoxides of calcium and iron. This will yield product branching between reactive and quenching pathways, translational energy partition and vector anisotropy. Fundamental information will be obtained on bonding and bond strengths, structures, nuclear motion dynamics, electronic nonadiabatic interactions and steric hindrance effects. The experiments will be performed using a supersonic expansion molecular beam apparatus with reflectron, time of flight, mass spectrometry and laser photodissociation. The studies will show how weakly bonded clusters molecules break up after they have been exposed to laser light. This provides information on the reaction pathways, on the structure of the complex and on the strengths of the bonds. As well as the fundamental chemical interest, the work has applications to atmospheric, biological and catalytic situations.