In this project in the Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Terry A. Miller of the Ohio State University will conduct fundamental investigations of chemical reaction intermediates and clusters involving them. The primary method for detection and characterization of the species is high resolution spectroscopy. The species are produced in the cold, unreactive environment of a supersonic jet expansion where they can be interrogated by bot moderate and very high resolution laser induced fluorescence (LIF) spectroscopy. Using the same jet techniques, the zero kinetic energy (ZEKE) spectroscopy of the chemically very important ions of a number of reactive, neutral free radicals will be characterized. Specific chemical intermediates to be studied as neutrals and/or cations include alkoxy radicals and their fluoro- and thio-derivatives, carbenes, amiodogen and related radicals, and substituted methyl radicals (carbonium ions). Concurrent theoretical developments in fundamental spectroscopic theory, applied spectroscopic analysis, and ab initio calculations on the chemical intermediates will be undertaken. Complex chemical reactions that occur in atmospheric, combustion, and organic synthesis processes typically involve transient chemical intermediates, such as free radicals and molecular ions, that determine the overall result of the process. Spectroscopic identification of the intermediates is critical for the practical investigation and monitoring of such reactions. Spectroscopic characterization of the intermediates provides a foundation for the basic understanding of the nature of chemical reactivity. This research involves a multifaceted approach to the spectroscopic detection and characterization of these intermediates and species involving them.
