This grant in Organic and Macromolecular Chemistry provides research support for Dr. Robert Rosenfeld, University of California, Davis. The research focuses on studies of the energy distribution of products in organic fragmentation reactions. Such studies are important because understanding the distribution of energy allows predictions to be made that could bring about a more efficient use of energy sources. Such studies also provide data which allow the testing of a variety of theoretical models of energy transfer and distribution. The technique of time-resolved infrared laser spectroscopy will be used to study the photodissociation dynamics of polyatomic molecules in the fragmentation of various classes of molecules (ketones, sulfoxides lactones). The deposition of energy in the products' vibrational, rotational, and translational degrees of freedom will be monitored using cryogenic lead-salt diode laser sources. A central aspect of the proposed work is the analysis of reaction dynamics across a homologous series of compounds. Thus, the extent to which classical mechanistic schemes have bases in the microscopic aspects of reactivity will be studied. Additionally, the PI will apply the method of time-resolved laser spectroscopy to observing new reactive intermediates and metasable species in metal carbonyl systems and characterizing the reactivity and thermochemistry of these species.
