In this project, the structure and dynamics of a general class of weakly bonded mercury complexes will be studied. The information obtained will enable the bonding energies of such systems and their reaction paths to be determined. In addition, Dr. Zwier is a highly qualified spectroscopist who is bringing state-of-the- art chemical physics research into the undergraduate college environment. The systems to be studied are bound only by van der Waals forces in the ground state, but are chemically bound in some excited states. The rotationally resolved spectra of such mercury complexes as Hg-water, Hg-ammonia, and Hg-ethylene will be studied by laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy to determine the binding energies and vibrational frequencies in both the ground and excited electronic states. The dynamics of relaxation or reaction will be probed by fluorescence lifetime studies.
