This research project, carried out by Professor Phillipe Guyot-Sionnest and his research group at the University of Chicago, addresses questions of vibrational energy flow between adsorbed molecules and metal surfaces. Supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program, this project examines the transfer of vibrational energy between adsorbed diatomic molecules and the metal surface, as well as the effect of vibrational excitation on the dynamics of small molecule reactions at these surfaces. The development of fast infrared laser sources needed for these studies forms another focus of this research effort. The basic information obtained from these studies is useful for our developing understanding of important heterogeneous processes such as catalysis and semiconductor device processing. The detailed understanding of the dynamics of energy exchange and reaction at solid surfaces is the goal of this research project. Fast infrared laser probing of these processes is used to obtain a detailed picture of energy transfer and reaction at metal surfaces. This basic information impacts technologically important areas such as heterogeneous catalysis and electronic materials processing.
