Raman Spectroscopy of Mass Selected Metal Clusters

Cuny City College, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

Professor John Lombardi of City University of New York, City College is supported by the Experimental Physical Chemistry program to perform experimental studies on metal dimer binding. A specialized facility has been developed over the years at CUNY to mass select and deposit metal dimers and trimers in matrices and study them using Raman spectroscopy. This proposal seeks to expand previous work by including heteronuclear dimers, and to examine gold-M clusters (with M= La, Lu, Ce) which are relevant to the catalysis of proplyene oxide, an important industrial process. Collaboration with a theorist allows quantum chemical approaches to be brought to bear on the interpretation of these results on metal-metal binding. The gold clusters will also help theorists to understand relativistic effects. Increasing the importance of metal cluster studies is the recent effort by scientists to manipulate matter using nanotechnology. Metal clusters are also of interest in the field of catalysis. Understanding metal to metal binding is relevant to inorganic chemical synthesis and the production of new materials. CUNY City College is a Hispanic Serving Institution.