This award from the Chemistry Research Instrumentation and Facilities Program (CRIF) will assist the Department of Chemistry at University of California @ Riverside acquire a Raman spectrometer. This equipment will enhance research in a number of areas including the following: (1) Raman spectroscopy at high pressures, (2) Raman imaging of microelectrodes, (3) Raman studies of conjugated molecules and polymers, (4) Binding of vitamin D steroids to receptors, (5) Gas-chromatograph-matrix isolation-Raman spectroscopy, and (6) Raman studies of molecular photonic devices. A Raman spectrometer can provide important information about chemical reactivity from the scattered light as it passes through a transparent medium caused by changes in rotational or vibrational energy of the scattering molecules. Its use may enable breakthroughs in our understanding of the properties of reactive and nonreactive molecules.
