In this project, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program of the Chemistry Division, Prof. Gilbert Nathanson of the University of Wisconsin-Madison will conduct a research program to study collisions and reactions of reactive gases with pure and salty protic solvents, molten alkali hydroxides, and organic ionic liquids. The work has four specific goals: 1) To explore interfacial reactions through observations of gas-liquid deuterium to hydrogen exchange; 2) to investigate the catalyzation or suppression of interfacial reactions by ions dissolved at the surfaces of salty liquids; 3) to map out the pathways for scattering, trapping, acid-base, and oxidation-reduction reactions in collisions of protic gases with molten alkali hydroxides; and 4) to investigate how gas-liquid energy transfer and reaction rates are influenced by the alkyl chain structure of organic ionic liquids. These studies will contribute to the development of a molecular picture of gas-liquid interfaces, which will promote the understanding of gas-liquid processes occurring industrially and in the atmosphere.
Graduate and undergraduate students, including women and underrepresented minorities, will participate in this research.
