In this award, funded by the Experimental Physical Chemistry Program, Prof. Kenneth B. Eisenthal of Columbia University and his graduate and undergraduate student colleagues will pursue studies aimed at investigating the acid-base reactivity of molecules at interfaces. They will do this by using non-linear spectroscopic methods that are primarily sensitive to molecules at interfaces. The ultimate aim of these studies is to learn how the reactivity of acids and bases changes when the species are present at an interface -- an environment that is quite different from the bulk liquid environment which has heretofore been mostly studied.
Acid and base reactivity is a large, ubiquitous class of chemical reactions. Interfaces with liquids are also ubiquitous, e.g. the surface of all bodies of water comprise roughly 2/3 of the earth's surface. It is surprising, but very little is known about the acid-base chemistry that occurs at these types of interfaces. Prof. Eisenthal and his young colleagues are attempting to uncover this important information. Besides the broader scientific impact of these groundbreaking studies, the young scientists supported by this award will receive unparalleled training in interfacial chemistry and physics.
