Structures and Dynamics at Interfaces

California Institute Of Technology, Pasadena CA

Investigators

Abstract

In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Ahmed Zewail of the California Institute of Technology and his post-doctoral associates and graduate research students will continue their work on ultrafast (femtosecond-picosecond) electron diffraction (UED) and ultrafast electron crystallography (UEC) to study fundamental molecular processes -- both in the gas phase, as well as at interfaces. The principal advantage of this method is the fact that electrons interact strongly with all of the atoms in a material (no need for a chromophore or heavy atoms), and the dynamical information that is obtained directly gives the time-dependent structural information for an evolving system. Prof. Zewail and his group are developing a universal method for determining the rapid structural changes of dynamical chemical systems, by measuring the diffraction of short bursts of electrons. The ultimate aim of the research is to develop a means for determining the ultrafast structural evolution of any chemical, material or biomolecular system. The graduate students and post-doctoral researchers working on this project will gain unique experience that they will be able to apply to fields of chemistry, materials science, nanoscience, and biomolecular science.