Molecule-surface scattering with velocity controlled molecular beams

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Alec Wodtke of the University of California - Santa Barbara, together with his graduate students, will investigate the collisions of excited CO molecules colliding with a gold [Au(111)] surface. This research coordinates with a collaborative award funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to Dr. Gerard Meijer from the Department of Molecular Physics, Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society. This collaborative project combines the expertise of the Meijer group in accelerating/decelerating molecular beams to well-defined velocities (via Stark velocity control) with the Wodtke group's expertise in molecular beam-surface scattering to investigate energy transfer in molecule-surface scattering with unprecedented control. Gas-surface interactions are important in a number of areas, from heterogeneous catalysis to atmospheric chemistry. Developing an understanding of these processes requires not only understanding how reactions occur at surfaces, but also how energy is transferred between the surface and the gas phase. The goal of work like that of Prof. Wodtke is to develop a better understanding of how energy is transferred from gas-phase species to a surface. Recent work out of the Wodtke laboratory shows that previous theoretical models are incomplete. In addition to the broader scientific impact of the proposed research work, Prof. Wodtke's students will receive significant exposure to one of the finest Chemical Physics laboratories in Germany -- training a new group of globally-engaged scientists in the United States.