Multidimensional Femtosecond Studies of Chemical Reaction Dynamics

University Of Colorado At Boulder, Boulder CO

Investigators

Abstract

In this project funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms program of the Chemistry Division and co-funded by the Office of International Science and Engineering, Professor David Jonas of the University of Colorado at Boulder will develop approaches to two-dimensional Fourier transform femtosecond spectroscopy with pulses approaching octave (factor of 2) frequency spans in the optical and infrared regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. The project includes an international collaboration to use pulsed laser sources developed in the laboratory of Jens Biegert at ICFO (Spain). Femtosecond spectroscopy will be used to study the electronic and vibrational dynamics at conical intersections in two classes of molecules: phthalocyanines, where the temperature dependence of dynamics at conical intersections can test theoretical predictions about the role of vibrational wavepacket width; and carotenoids, which play diverse and not yet mechanistically understood roles in protecting many biological systems from excess sunlight. It is hoped that the approaches to two-dimensional spectroscopy developed in this project will become useful for determining how electronic motions both drive and are driven by atomic rearrangements in chemical reactions. Graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher participating in the project will be trained in scientific research, gain valuable experience in international collaboration, and present project results at national meetings of scientific professional societies and international interdisciplinary conferences.