CRIF:MU Acquisition of a Femtosecond Transient Absorption Spectrometer for Research and Education

Ohio University, Athens OH

Investigators

Abstract

With this award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities: Departmental Multi-User Instrumentation program (CRIF:MU), Professors Tadeusz Malinski, Jennifer V. Hines, Jeffrey J. Rack, Eric Stinaff and Paul G. Van Patten of Ohio University will acquire a femtosecond transient absorption and luminescence spectrometer system. It will be employed to investigate colloidal nanoparticles, RNA structures, photochromic ruthenium and osmium polypyridyl complexes, solid-state nanostructures and organic supramolecular structures. Femtosecond spectrometers use ultrafast laser technology to study molecular phenomena on very short time scales. Arguably, some of the most fundamental processes in chemistry, biology and materials science (e.g., bond breaking and formation, electron transfer, molecular dynamics and others) occur on ultrafast time scales. This acquisition will exploit the versatility of the instrument in the growing field of ultrafast spectroscopy. All aspects of the work will be performed by graduate students, select undergraduates, and postdocs as part of their academic experience. This will provide a rich training experience in the growing field of ultrafast methodology with state of the art instrumentation.