Dr. Peacock-Lopez is supported by an RUI grant from the Theoretical and Computational Chemistry Program to develop new theories related to bimolecular reactions in solution and on surfaces. This research will provide a more fundamental physical understanding of the nature of chemical reactions of importance in solution, and in the surface catalyzed Fischer-Tropsch synthesis of hydrocarbons and alcohols from coal gas. Dr. Peacock-Lopez is developing a statistical mechanical theory of nonequilibrium thermodynamics which he plans to apply to the calculation of diffusion effects on chemical rate constants. He will use this theory to treat a number of chemical systems including: 1) radical scavenging and geminate recombination reactions; 2) fluorescence quenching in electron-transfer reactions which play an important role in solar energy conversion; 3) nonlinear fluorescence quenching in the presence of polymers; and 4) surface diffusion, active site coverage, and the effects of catalysts on the reaction rate constant for the hydrogenation of carbon monoxide.
