The Experimental Physical Chemistry Program supports T. Darrah Thomas of Oregon State University in his continuing studies on inner-shell photoelectron spectroscopy of small molecules. He will focus on high-resolution spectroscopy of carbon 1s electrons, using the high-resolution electron spectrometer at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Lawrence Berkeley Lab. The ultimate goals are to develop a better understanding of the relationship between ionization energies and reactivity and other chemical properties, to develop procedures for assigning group electronegativities, to better understand the factors that contribute to electronegativity and to test current theories for predicting and understanding ionization energies. These topics are at the forefront of current research in electron spectroscopy and have recently become extremely topical because of the availability of third-generation synchrotron radiation sources. While there have been many molecular systems studied at high-brightness synchrotrons, almost all of the previously published studies of other investigators have been demonstration studies. These studies go far beyond that. The beauty of x-ray spectroscopy is that it can be atom-specific, even in the `chemical site` sense of the term. For chemically important compounds, this requires the extremely high resolution available in the synchrotron sources that will be exploited in these studies. Photoelectron spectroscopy and Auger spectroscopy are by far the most important and widely used techniques for surface analysis in industry and fundamental research in these areas remains vitally important.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Chemistry (CHE)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
9727471
Program Officer
Alfons Weber
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
1998-02-15
Budget End
2002-01-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
1997
Total Cost
$229,789
Indirect Cost
Name
Oregon State University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Corvallis
State
OR
Country
United States
Zip Code
97331