With support from the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program, the Department of Chemistry at SUNY College at Buffalo will acquire a Step-scan Time-resolved FTIR and pulsed Nd-YAG Pump Laser for Studies of Photo-induced Species in Chemical and Biomolecular Systems. The proposed instrumentation will be used to: 1) complement on-going time-resolved x-ray crystallographic studies aimed at elucidating geometrical changes that accompany the formation of short-lived photo-excited states; 2) elucidate changes that occur in the active site and surrounding protein during the activation and splitting of hydrogen by the hydrogenases; 3) study the nature of differences in activation of calmodulin in its native form compared to calmodulin embedded in xerogels; 4) characterize electron transfer processes occurring at semiconductor nanomaterial surfaces; 5) integrate time resolved infrared studies on the photochemistry of metal nitrosyls and metal carbonyls into the undergraduate curriculum.
Faculty at SUNY in Buffalo will share access to this equipment These studies will have an impact in a number of areas, including biochemistry, nanoscience and materials science.
