In this award, funded by the Chemical Structure, Dynamics and Mechanisms (CSDM-A) Program of the Division of Chemistry, Professor Marsha I. Lester of the University of Pennsylvania and her graduate student and post-doctoral researcher colleagues are investigating the chemical properties of reactive atmospheric intermediates. The ultimate goal of the work by Professor Lester and her group is to develop a better understanding of the chemistry of the troposphere, the lowest part of the atmosphere, where we live and breathe. Ultimately, studies like that of Prof. Lester will lead to the development of better models of atmospheric chemistry. The young researchers working on this project will receive sophisticated training in state-of-the art methods from a leader in the field.
The so-called Criegee intermediates that Professor Lester and her group are studying are produced in the reaction of ozone (a tropospheric pollutant) with alkenes (a type of volatile organic compound). These interesting chemical species represent important intermediates in the oxidation of alkenes in the atmosphere. The experimental work in the Lester laboratory will look at: the dissociation (unimolecular and photo-induced) of the Criegee intermediates; the spectroscopy of a series of related compounds; and the bimolecular reactions of the Criegee intermediate with other atmospheric species
