In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program, Prof. Greg Sitz of the University of Texas at Austin and his graduate and undergraduate student colleagues will study the scattering of vibrationally excited hydrogen molecules off of well-characterized solid surfaces. The study of energy transfer between vibrationally excited hydrogen and surfaces will focus on non-adiabatic effects -- i.e. cases where vibrational energy is lost to surface electronic degrees of freedom. Recent work in Prof. Sitz's laboratory, as well as the laboratories of others, suggest that this is more common than previously believed, yet it remains poorly understood. The goal of these experiments is to obtain benchmark data that can be compared with the best theoretical efforts, in order to come to a better understanding of these processes.
The reaction of gas-phase molecular species is of fundamental importance in industrial applications (e.g. chemical vapor deposition, semiconductor processing). Work like that or Prof. Sitz and his student collaborators is aimed at developing a firmer understanding of the chemistry taking place in these incredibly complex environments. Prof. Sitz is also committed to providing unique, extensive research opportunities to undergraduate researchers working in his laboratory.
