Ion Pair Imaging Spectroscopy

Suny At Stony Brook, Stony Brook NY

Investigators

Abstract

In this proposal funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Arthur Suits of the State University of New York at Stony Brook will pursue a program of research on ion pair imaging spectroscopy. Vacuum ultraviolet radiation will be used to drive dissociation of various molecules to produce ion pairs. The kinetic energy released, when one of the ions in the pair is structureless (e.g., chloride ion) maps the energy levels of the co-fragment in a manner analogous to photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This approach permits study of species for which no stable precursors re available, and will readily allow for probing levels that are optically inaccessible. The overarching goal of this project is to obtain vibrational frequencies and thermochemical data for elusive ionic species not accessible to conventional techniques. Preliminary studies of the methyl cation will be extended to include related C2 and C3 species, as well as the methylene cation. The results of these studies will be used as benchmarks for comparison to theoretical calculations, for their intrinsic value in determining the thermochemical scales on which all of chemistry relies, and for developing the fundamental understanding of transient species of importance in combustion, atmospheric and interstellar chemistry.