Professor Beckerle of the Chemistry Department of Clemson University is supported by an NSF Young Investigator Award from the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program to investigate the rates and mechanisms by which the vibrational energy of molecules adsorbed on metal surfaces is redistributed. These studies will be carried out in real time using ultrafast laser spectroscopy. In this research, femtosecond time-resolved infrared spectral hole-burning will be employed in a comparative study of the rates and mechanisms of vibrational energy transfer for adsorbates on the surfaces of metal structures ranging in size from bulk sigle crystals to ultrathin metal films to nanometer size metal particles. Much of contemporary surface science is devoted to the understanding of heterogeneous catalysis, and the growth and processing of advanced materials. An important aspect of such studies is the effective comparison of adsorbates on metal surfaces of widely ranging sizes and/or geometry. The research undertaken in this project will serve to provide important insight into the way in which vibrational energy of adsorbed molecules redistributes itself across a metal surface.
