Chemical Dynamics in Isolated Molecules and Clusters

Princeton University, Princeton NJ

Investigators

Abstract

Giacinto Scoles of Princeton University is supported by a grant from the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to study chemical dynamics in isolated molecules and clusters. These are to be performed using his recently developed: (1) Helium Nano Droplet Isolation (HENDI) Spectrometer with infrared (IR) molecular excitation and relaxation as well as microwave (MW) and MW-MW double resonance spectroscopy and (2) IR-IR double resonance spectrometer. Specifically, these devices will be used to (1) obtain the microwave spectra of the molecular pairs (hydrogenated and deuterated monofluoromethane, hydrogen chloride and hydrogen bromide), (2) study the spectroscopy of the molecule/radical complexes (acetylene and oxygen molecules with oxygen atoms, oxygen molecules with the cyanide radical and detailed studies of the cyanide radical itself) and (3) study the dynamics of isolated molecules involving intramolecular vibrational relaxation (initially in diacetylene and cyanoacetylene), and isomerization between methyl cyanide and isocyanide and between cyclopropane and propene. This study uses new experimental techniques to probe energy transfer processes and reactions of molecules and molecular clusters in both isolated molecules and molecules embedded in liquid helium nanoparticles. It has enabled high resolution infrared and microwave spectra to be obtained in the liquid phase to uncover the fundamental mechanisms of these energy transfer and reactive processes.