Water-Mediated Chemistry of Metal Oxides

Harvard University, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract CHE-0545335 Friend/Harvard This project, supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, addresses the effect of adsorbed water on the adsorption and reaction of NOx, SO2, O3 and oxygenated organics on mineral oxide surfaces. Using a combination of reflection-absorption infrared, high pressure XPS, and mass spectrometry to monitor the surface reaction chemistry, along with scanning probe microscopy for the characterization of the oxide surface, fundamental information about this surface chemistry is being obtained. Professor Friend and her coworkers in the Department of Chemistry at Harvard University are examining these environmentally relevant surface chemical reactions. Training of graduate students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral associates contribute to the broader impacts of this work. How adsorbed water affects the reaction chemistry of small molecules on oxide surfaces is the subject of this research project. With the support of the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, Professor Friend and her coworkers are obtaining molecular level information about the mechanisms of these environmentally important surface reactions. The broader impacts of this work include information relevant to atmospheric chemistry and heterogeneous catalysis, as well as the training of the next generation of students.